


Demon From the Cradle//EXO Half-Demon!AU

by versol



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cambions, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Blood and Violence, Cambions, EXO Have Powers, Graphic Description, Half-demons, Killing, M/M, Promise, Relates to their superpowers lol, not as bad as it sounds, superhuman abilities, that works, this is really hard to tag im sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-02-19 22:20:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 84,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13133400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/versol/pseuds/versol
Summary: Baekhyun has always been considered normal. Nothing more. An average human.One slip up, and he’s facing the barrel of first class investigator Kim Junmyeon’s gun.One slip up is all it takes for him to find out he’s not so human after all.How can you bring peace when such a word ceases to exist in a society that deliberately inflicts war among the minority?((Copyright versol [Sol] 2017))





	1. Nightlife

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, this was originally supposed to be posted after I tied up Revitalize, but my confidence in the story, and the story itself has been too much to even think about lately. So I figured I'd post this as a little something new I've been working on to take my mind off these recent, heavy feelings...  
> This story is a totally different style than the existential/moral mindset I've been pouring into Revitalize. The style is more easy going on the mind, I promise. If you haven't read Revitalize, then everything I just said doesn't apply to you, and you may continue merrily along your way to begin this story. I've had a lot of fun writing this and I know I'll have fun continuing it, even if chaptered au's aren't preferred anymore lol.  
> If you'd like to keep up with me follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/versolshua) and if there's anything you want to talk about, I'm all ears on [Tumblr](https://versolshua.tumblr.com). Enjoy the start of a new era(?).  
> -Sol

Chapter 1

  


 

 

 

_Since recent times, talk of humans who carry unique, special abilities have been carried around and recorded for as long as anyone can remember. These semi-humans were considered gods among the Earth because of their abilities and were worshipped in some regions. These qualities were beginning to become recorded more and more, and soon these once worshipped gods were come to be viewed as demi-demons, now known as Cambions, for short. Investigators work to continue further research in how they work, develop, and think, turning former myths into concrete facts._

 

_When a half-demon and human reproduce, that child will possess the human qualities from the human parent, and the demon qualities of the demon parent._

_If two Cambions reproduce, the child will possess the half human quality of one parent, and the demon of the other (et. al Weber)._

_Two Cambions reproducing does not develop a full demon, though often said otherwise. Researchers have proven that since half of the genes come from a single parent, then human DNA from the human parent goes into the child, and that of the demon’s DNA will as well (et. al Weber). It’s been thousands of years since a full demon has ever been reported, and though there have been rumors over recent years, no concrete evidence has actually been provided to make this statement a fact (Myers). There are many theories and stories about how full demons are created, but facts outweigh myths, and until one is truly revealed (which it likely won’t be), rumors and stories will remain as they are._

 

_After a Cambion child is born, they grow and develop just like humans, but specific quality traits are possessed called ‘qualitas’ derived from the Latin word ‘quality’, which commonly begin to show depending on the strength of the said trait (Kang, 2013). The precursors will often show between the ages of 6-10, while the full quality manifests around ages 12-16 (et. al Weber). Cambions often possess the same “super-human“ traits, such as incredible strength, speed, vision, agility, even longevity and regeneration. Though the key qualities a child possesses that manifest at early ages will vary, and include a variety of things like elemental control, various types of physical and earthly manifestations, as well as various types of kinetic abilities, flight, energetic beams, etc (Kang, 2013).  These strong forces are uniquely different, and a child that possesses the demon quality of their parent, will take their parents trait unless it’s two Cambions, which in that case the trait will result in random._

 

_Due to these extraordinary, differing qualities, many Cambions have been reported to become unrecognizable when their demon side takes over. This often happens when a demon is put under severe trauma, and gets overly excited, or scared (et al. Lee). This results in sudden bursts of violent behavior, resulting in injury or even death, as well as physical changes in appearance. Cambions in this form have been reported having horns, as well as black eyes, with an illuminated red iris inside a glowing rim of white. Cambions have been said to “literally become possessed”, changing into a total stranger (et. al Lee). No one knows if they’re fully awake inside, or conscious when they manifest into this state, but theories based on present and historical attacks have mostly concluded that there is consciousness of the individual when they change into a demon form (et. al Lee), but often leave it unrecognized._

 

_“They’re dangerous people. They don’t belong in cities, and should remain on the outskirts. Their impulse is stronger than that out of anything on this Earth and that impulse will only increase when they’re left to roam freely on busy city streets” Says CRI (Cambion Research and Investigation) investigator Kim Junmyeon, a highly praised detective on the team since 2012. Kim has been highly praised among Seoul investigators for his expanded knowledge on the demons and has closed multiple cases concerning Cambion related fatalities, opening the door to further research on the creatures._

 

_“When they manifest, it’s unlike that of anything else. They become stronger, bolder, and have no mercy for any living thing around them They’ll kill on instinct and oftentimes aren’t sure what for. Some kill for food, some kill for fun, but all will kill out of instinct.” Kim says in a recent statement concerning the Cambion attack that took place at a nightclub in Hongdae this past month.|_

  
  
  


Talk, talk, talk. The lecture continues to drag for what feel like an eternity. Baekhyun has scribbled useless stick doodles along the margins of his notes because his brain has officially flatlined. Everything is going in one ear, and out the other. He’ll ask a classmate later for notes, with his charm, they always come through efficiently, whether they want to or not.

 

It’s his last class of the day and he’s ready to dash out and spend his evening being a human. A human that does human things. Like socializing, and eating, and sleeping, not sitting dazed in a lecture because he _has_ to.

 

Stupid college.

 

His phone vibrates from under his notebook completely startling him out of his blank state of mind and he slips it out from under the front cover, looking at the text from none other than his closest friend.

 

Chanyeol (Idiot): 

_I hope you’re paying attention in there. If you fail this class, I’ll never let you see me again!!_

 

Baekhyun silently scoffs at the stupid text, and responds,

 

To: Chanyeol (Idiot) 

_You wish. You can’t get rid of me, Park. I’m everywhere._

 

Baekhyun was supposed to meet Chanyeol at their usual place for coffee, a routine they’ve had and have very rarely broken since high school. Now in college the two still manage to piece out their busy schedules in order to see one another, at the same place, the same days, same times, just like they’ve always have.

 

But with Baekhyun’s deathly long lecture continuing to drag, and his patience now fading along with his attention, he’s beginning to worry that maybe Chanyeol will up and leave because his stupid professor won’t seem to stop going until the very last second. As is this class wasn’t boring enough, his professor is one of those “You aren’t dismissed until I say” kind of teachers, so this class is the one he dreads the most every week, that’s also why he scheduled it on one of his earlier days, so he can get in and out and have the rest of his day to himself.

 

The bell rings but as everyone rises, putting notebooks away and slinging backpacks over their shoulders, the professor is sitting everyone back down, “You’re not done here until I say so, how long have you all had this class?”

 

Eyes roll, and a heavy chorus of sighs ensues as students slump back into their chairs, eagerly waiting to leave as the professor reminds them about their assignment due in the next week and a half, “You have a research paper on Cambions due within the next week, don’t forget! See you all next week. Dismissed.”

 

Baekhyun scoffs in disgust (out loud this time) at the word. Cambions. Stupid, vile, half-possessed monsters that don’t deserve to walk the Earth. Any one that is seen is shot down on site and taken into private custody for research. As of now,  just over around 1,000 have been documented since the 1800’s to present. Apparently more are out there, but since they’re so hard to document until they show symptoms, and some being undocumented to save their livelihood, no one is sure how many are out there.

  


Baekhyun hates going out at night because of this. They’re probably everywhere, hell, his next door neighbor is probably one and he wouldn’t know. He hates everything and anything to do with them.

  


He swings his bag over his shoulder, jumping out of his seat with enthusiasm (as if his brain wasn’t just fried a few minutes ago), and skips down the steps of the classroom, rushing through the door, and down the halls of the building hoping that he’ll make it on time to his scheduled plans.

  


He does, of course.

 

There’s a squished up face pressed against the glass of the cafe window as Baekhyun arrives, he glares at the face, it being Chanyeol, of course, and rolls his eyes as he swings open the glass door to greet the smiling male, notebooks and papers scattered along what is supposed to be their table, and his laptop wide open, smothering the whole table in unsightly school work that Baekhyun is trying not to think about at this time of the day, considering what he just came from.

 

“It’s about time, you’re late!” He smiles, walking up to the smaller male, throwing an arm around his shoulder and Baekhyun rolls his eyes once again and chuckles at the taller male,

 

“How many times do I have to tell you, that class is total Hell.” he says, stepping up to the counter with Chanyeol, the two getting the same thing they always do, two iced Americanos, bitter as Baekhyun’s personality, and cold as Chanyeol’s repressed feelings, the two sit and talk their whole week out as if they hadn’t seen each other in years (it’s only been three days).

 

“So how’s your paper going? The Cambion research one?” Chanyeol asks, piling his papers up as he clears a spot for Baekhyun, who just shrugs and hums.

 

“Stupid,” He mumbles, taking a seat, “out of all the things we could  write a research paper on  he decides on those sick, possessed scavengers? I could write about a million other things, Chanyeol. But he chooses… Demons.”

 

“Half demons.” Chanyeol corrects him, shoving his papers blindly into his backpack.

 

Baekhyun scoffs, taking a sip of bitter coffee, “No difference. They’re all the same.”

 

The taller male hums, “You’ve always been so hateful towards them, I don’t get it Baek.”

The smaller huffs, sitting back in his chair.

 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol have come to agree on lots of things together. It’s why they’ve always been so close. But one thing they’ve never been able to see eye to eye on is their views on the demi-demons that walk the Earth and coexist with humans.

 

Chanyeol doesn’t seem to mind them. Doesn’t seem to mind the hundreds if not thousands of cases of reported attacks, or the damage they’ve caused to society since they’ve been documented, he doesn’t mind the monsters they’ve been cursed to live as. It’s never made sense to Baekhyun.

 

Baekhyun minds them. He takes extra caution, in fact. He double checks the locks on his apartment door, he gives himself a curfew of 7:45, because they become most active around 8p.m. He watches out for the most reportedly active areas of the city because he can’t trust those bastards with a single speck of his life. Baekhyun hates them, and Chanyeol doesn’t understand why.

 

“Because you… You actually like them.” Baekhyun scowls,  “Have you even met one of them, Chanyeol?” the male asks, staring at Chanyeol as he awaits a response and the male sends him a look in return, followed by a snarky, “Have _you_?”

 

_Okay…_

 

Baekhyun says nothing, and slumps back into his seat exhaling a heavy sigh, staring out the window as people pass. Maybe he has, maybe he hasn’t. There’s no estimate on how many there are in the world, but probably a lot more than 1,032 (this is the exact number since the 1800’s). The two have agreed to never have this conversation because it gets them absolutely nowhere, and it’s simply an opinion they each hold up to themselves.

 

“I never said I _liked_ them… I just think they’re… Interesting.”

 

“Chanyeol, you’d find interest in watching paint dry.”

  


The two dropped the topic after that; Chanyeol kicked Baekhyun in the shin from under table.

  
  
  
  


\--

  
  
  
  


A series of timid knocks on Junmyeon’s office door has his attention turning from his work, to who it could possibly be that’s bothering him.

 

“Come in.” He mumbles, turning his head back down to the papers on his desk, ignoring the presence of whoever it is that has just walked into the room. It’s quiet for a moment, the only sounds being Junmyeon’s pen carving into paper.

 

“Speak up.” He says, the volume of his voice being lower since he’s talking straight into the desk.

 

“D-Detective?” A voice says, quiet and nervous sounding.

 

“I’m... Oh Sehun... Your new partner. You weren’t in the meeting today so they told me to come here and introduce myself, I-”

 

“Thank you, you can leave now.”  Junmyeon says, not bothering to let the young man finish his sentence and keeps his attention focused on his work, he can’t let his train of thought falter, mostly because he doesn’t want a new partner. He told the company he could do his work alone, and would be just fine doing so. He refused to work with anyone else, and they go ahead and present him with some kid?

 

He hears the light click of the door closing, and leans back in his chair,

  
“What a joke.” He mumbles, stretching his arms, and leaning forwards against his desk again. He knows all of the new recruits, every one of them. It’s his job to know them, that’s why Junmyeon didn’t even bother to look at him, didn’t bother to spare a glance. He knows who he is, and that’s as far as he wants to go. He doesn’t care to know anything beyond his name.

 

After watching his last partner of 4 years die in front of him, he doesn’t want to put himself, or anyone else in that vulnerable a position again. He can’t for the sake of his previous partner, and now in this case, his future partner. He knows if they were to get caught up the result would likely end up like last time. Not only that, but there was never anyone who was able to understand him and his motive like Yifan, who just so happen to share the exact same energy as Junmyeon. Being able to find anyone else to share that with is… Useless in his opinion. There was no better partner for him than Yifan, and there never will be.

 

Junmyeon has been doing his investigative work since 2012,  that was the same year he was paired with Yifan. The two shared a strong bond through investigation together, rising and climbing to the first class together. They had been practically unstoppable and had paved the way for further investigation concerning demons.

 

That’s what he thought.

After the two tried to corner a Cambion a few weeks ago, things got wildly out of hand and in seconds Yifan fell dead right in front of Junmyeon in the midst of  protecting him. Junmyeon was careless and selfish and out of all the things he could have done to save Yifan, he stood static and silent in total fear. Something left him totally paralyzed, and he isn’t sure if it was him or the demon that caused it, but whatever it was, it shouldn’t have happened, by any means. It was his job to prevent it, and he failed. He failed to his job.

 

Now he’s got a new partner, after stating time after time that he doesn’t want one.

 

A partner who graduated the very top of his class of new recruits and is incredibly skilled not only in physical combat, but his knowledge on the half-demons as well, immediately placing him in the first class investigators in just a year of being here.

 

_What a joke…_

  
  
  


\--

  
  
  
  


“C’moooon, Baek, it’s Friday, stop being such a child and let’s just go out for a little. It’s been forever.”

 

“Chanyeol, I have a paper-”  


“You and I both know that the last thing you want to do on a Friday evening is write a paper on something you don’t want to. Let’s just go out and watch a movie or something, please? We never do this anymore!” Chanyeol whines, slumping into Baekhyun’s couch as the male has beat him yet another time in a video game that he’s too good at.

 

“You’re already wasting your time playing video games, so we might as well.” The male pleads lowly once more and Baekhyun sighs a low _‘Fine’_ as Chanyeol jumps from the couch in excitement, cheering loudly and yanking Baekhyun after him, ruffling the smaller male’s reddish brown hair,

 

“There’s a whole city out there and you waste it on some minority. Pity” Chanyeol says, giving him a thump on the head as Baekhyun pulls his hoodie over, grabbing his keys and ushering the chattering male out into the hall silently.  Chanyeol just keeps talking, teasing, and annoying the smaller in every way possible and all Baekhyun can do is throw his arm around blindly in attempt to stop Chanyeol, but that never helps. The male is so much taller than him that he automatically qualifies as Baekhyun’s biggest disadvantage. Baekhyun has compared Chanyeol to a great dane for obvious reasons, which the male pushes him, and calls him a corgi in response; Tiny, cute, and fun to mess with.

 

Chanyeol just laughs and gives Baekhyun high-fives while he tries to shoo Chanyeol away while he locks his door, and finally does so successfully.

  


He never gets anything done with Chanyeol around, ever.

 

The two argue all the way downstairs on where they should go, or what they should do. Every idea Chanyeol had was ricocheted by Baekhyun, until they finally came to a decision at the bus stop.

 

“You better make this count, Park. Otherwise you’ll never see me again.” Baekhyun threatens, pulling his jacket tighter around his body for more warmth. The winter weather, especially after sundown is something Baekhyun likes to use an excuse to stay inside these days, but against Chanyeol, he’s deemed useless.

 

“Of course I will! I heard someone in class talking about this place- it’s right where the nightlife is, you’ll love it.” Chanyeol smiles, stepping forward to edge of the curb when the bus comes into view, and Baekhyun rolls his eyes.

 

Chanyeol had more so _insisted_ on them going to the night market to walk around and going to eat at a restaurant after. The only reason Baekhyun agreed to this option is because the bustling amount is people sounded safer than anything other suggestion. The two would more than likely part ways afterwards so being around _humans_ makes Baekhyun feel safer. Add on the giant, six something Chanyeol and there’s nothing better.

  


The two have been close friends since middle school. They connected immediately when the new kid Park Chanyeol was introduced from a small town a few hours away and they’ve been inseparable ever since. Not a day has gone by that they haven’t argued over something stupid, come to a conclusion, then forgot about it five minutes later. They’ve gotten each other almost killed on a handful of occasions and have sworn to never tell their parents unless they’re really asking to die that badly, they’ve seen each other angry, confused, and everything in between.

 

They’ve seen each other cry more than once too, especially when Baekhyun’s father died just around the same time Chanyeol moved to Seoul. That had been especially hard on him, and if wasn’t for Chanyeol bringing the young boy a sense of happiness when everything was gone, Baekhyun would probably be very different today.

  


He likes keeping Chanyeol close, and things will stay that way.

  


The bus is much warmer compared to outside as the two step on and run their cards across the scanner, taking a seat together the two sit silently on the way, occasionally sharing a few words with each other.

 

Chanyeol had been right about Baekhyun and him not spending a night out with each other for a while. With classes, homework, and working, the two get more preoccupied with taking care of themselves than actually getting to spend valuable time together. It’s nights like these Baekhyun should really cherish more, and take advantage of. Chanyeol had a point when he joked about Baekhyun wasting his time worrying about the demons, but he can’t help it. His mother had often shared her hate about the things especially after his father died, and he took on to share the same view. Now that he’s having to immerse himself into this research paper, he’s learning more and more about the horrors these creatures really are. Baekhyun never bothered to pay attention about them in school either, it was a brief history topic they’d brush over, and he’d only sit silent and unbothered while the rest of the class (Chanyeol included) would ask questions, share unwanted opinions, and get too excited over something that didn’t matter.

 

Maybe Chanyeol is right, in a way.

 

He’s bothered himself over something he used to remain unbothered by.

  


A push on his shoulder has him jumping up to look at the broad male next to him, trying to push him out of the seat, “We’re here idiot, c’mon.”

 

Baekhyun rushes out of his seat, and with Chanyeol behind, the two step off the bus into a rushing crowd of people, bright lights and vendors are all around, powerful smells and a clamber of sounds dominate the senses as the two shove their way through the crowd, looking at everything that seems even remotely interesting. They push, trip and shuffle through a now overwhelming amount of people, Baekhyun practically holding onto Chanyeol in front of him for dear life as the male turns down corners right, then left, and then stops suddenly, causing Baekhyun to run straight into him, which earned Chanyeol a smack on the head once or twice.

 

“Chanyeol, where the hell are we going?” Baekhyun snaps, still tripping and pushing through crowds of people as the taller weaves mercilessly through the crowd.

 

He receives no answer from the taller, and tries asking once more and still gets nothing but the overwhelming sounds of strangers chattering around them. He knows that Chanyeol can hear him, but the only reason he isn’t telling Baekhyun anything is because he doesn’t want to spoil the surprise, even though they both know where they’re going.

 

Baekhyun doesn’t mind the ten minutes or so of walking. What he does mind is that his idiot of a best friend has given him the most vague idea of where they’re going and what they’re doing that he possibly could. How many small restaurants are there in Seoul? A lot. How many night markets? Also a lot.

 

“Oh, there it is!”

 

Chanyeol’s sudden outburst has Baekhyun looking all around him curious about where the place is, as Chanyeol gets a sudden rush of excitement, dragging poor little Baekhyun along like a child with a toy. Baekhyun is about to protest, telling Chanyeol that is this is the wrong place, or if he came here on _his_ Friday night just to have bad food, Chanyeol will never hear the end of it.

  


Chanyeol is right, in the end.

 

The two had squeezed inside a fairly decent sized restaurant, attacked by the different smells upon stepping inside the door, and were sat at a small table. Baekhyun didn’t even get the name of the place, hell, he barely got the address because of the rush of people. The place was small, and cramped; typical for a restaurant squeezed inside Seoul, the two knew what they were in for. Nothing extravagant, they’re only 22 year-old college students, it isn’t like they have a lot.

 

It’s the little things, like Samgyeopsal, which they thoroughly enjoy together in the far end of the crowded restaurant. It wasn’t bad at all, in fact, it was incredible, and Baekhyun silently thanks whoever it was that was talking about it, and Chanyeol for overhearing them. The meat that sits sizzling on the grill and the excited atmosphere that hangs around them just makes everything feel right, and Baekhyun is thankful that Chanyeol persuaded him into going, he was right; he really didn’t want to write that paper.

 

_“You hear about that attack at that nightclub in Hongdae?”_

 

Baekhyun’s ears perk up at the conversation of two younger students at the table behind them. They’re talking about the attack at a nightclub from a few weeks ago, the one he mentioned in his paper. He doesn’t know about a lot of the details, so this could be something. He eats silently listening to the conversation that’s now sparked his interest.

 

_“Who hasn’t? It’s been everywhere.”_

 

_“I have a classmate that was there that night, he was telling us about it today, it was insane.”_

 

Baekhyun listens closely, wrapping the hot meat in a lettuce wrap as the male behind him continues,

 

_“Said that blood was everywhere. All over the floor, the people around, tables, chairs, everything. It was like an animal gone mad-”_

 

_“Seriously? We’re eating, that’s disgusting.”_

 

_“No but listen, man, he said that the dude who attacked was there that night. Like, inside the actual club. He seemed totally fine then he just... Lashed out, almost like it wasn’t him.”_

 

_“Like he was possessed or what?”_

 

 _“Hell if I know,”_ he starts, _“said that his eyes turned all red and glowing and he was making sounds that weren’t human...  Ripped that poor guy to shreds. Apparently those things get weird instinctual cravings for human flesh and stuff. They’re like some kind of… Vampires or something.”_

 

 _“Those things are gross.”_ The other says, clear revolt in his voice.

_“No kidding, apparently they detained him with those poison darts or whatever. He lashed out for a while and looked like he was about to combust, his veins were showing and his pupils were dilated… I’m surprised he didn’t start foaming at the mouth. Must’ve been terrifying no doubt.”_

  


_Disgusting things…_

 

Baekhyun silently watches as Chanyeol lays more strips of meat on the grill, eagerly watching and waiting as he pulls himself out of the conversation behind him.

  


“So I heard a bunch of new recruits just graduated at are staring investigations at the research center,” Chanyeol says suddenly. Baekhyun looks from the grill up to Chanyeol in curiosity, he usually never brings up things like this. Baekhyun’s interest is slightly peaked at his friend’s sudden statement.

 

“Yeah, I heard.” Is all Baekhyun says in response. Chanyeol huffs, silently flipping the meat over then starts, “You remember that one guy we went to highschool with? Oh Sehun? Apparently he graduated top this year and is already a first class investigator.”

 

Baekhyun almost chokes on his drink hearing this, “What? No way.” He coughs, looking at Chanyeol as if he’d just seen a ghost. Chanyeol nods, a smug smile on his face.

 

“He’s younger than us, that’s impossible!” The smaller exclaims, taking a piece of meat off the grill, as Chanyeol shrugs,

 

“I do remember him always being super into that stuff. Now look at him, he’s top of his class _and_ a first class investigator while both of us are stuck here working shitty part-time jobs.”

 

It’s true. Sehun had been driven since the day he was born to become part of the line of responders, and it turns out the kid really did. Meanwhile Chanyeol is working part-time at a music store while Baekhyun is working as a waiter.

 

Sehun really out-did them, but then again, what were they expecting?

  


Baekhyun nods, it was reasonable. They never really had dreams or anything that had ‘driven’ them. That’s what made them so close, Baekhyun thinks. Two kids feeling a little separated from this world and trying their hardest to work to find whatever it is that fits them. Baekhyun is finding his thing in a branch of other things, right next to Chanyeol. They’re making their way through this life, maybe not at as fast a pace Sehun has, but at their own pace, however fast or slow that may be.

 

Chanyeol decided to jump into the music industry side of things, majoring in music technology and Baekhyun, being the indecisive fool he is, chose to major in visual arts, specifically graphic design. It was a last minute decision after hours of complaining to Chanyeol one night about how he had no idea what to do and eventually, Chanyeol made him figure it out by leaving his half used sketchbooks all over the place, talking about how he would never last in an office building and that he’d probably die if he had to live off of someone ordering him around all the time.

  


Baekhyun wasn’t one to complain. If anything he was thankful, and still is. As a last minute decision he was going to go into accounting just to make his mother a little more proud. If Chanyeol hadn’t been there to figure out things with him he would be living a very boring life, and Chanyeol was bound and determined to see Baekhyun make the most out of his talent and being his own boss.

  


The two had spent much longer than they intended in the restaurant staying past midnight, eating, talking, laughing, and spending way more money than they both wanted to. But it was all worth it, at the end of their long, well deserved night, they both left feeling a little lighter than they had than the beginning of their day.

 

The pair took the bus back to their neighborhood together, and separated after they got off. Sending each other their thanks and parting ways back their places for the rest of the night.

They didn’t live very far off campus. Only a little over a mile, plenty of restaurants and stores scattered the area, making it feel safe and homely. The friday night energy aiding some comfort to Baekhyun in his lonely walk home. The streets become more and more quiet the further away he walks, that’s usual for where they live. But something definitely feels off for some reason. He ignores it, because knowing him, it’s likely his paranoia, or, maybe it’s the fact that he’s dead tired and freaking himself out because it’s 1:30 in the morning and he’s been up since 7:00.

 

So, his paranoia.

  


His apartment building is in sight now, just up the road. But seeing it doesn’t make him walk any faster, it just gives him a slight sense of relief. It feels like he’s been walking for hours even though the time walking here from the bus is only around 10 minutes.

 

Stupid brain.

  


He shuffles a little further up the road, but is startled completely still when his phone blares loudly, ringing and echoing into the silent streets, looking at the ID, he sighs loudly, and taps the green pick up button, “What?” He deadpans.

 

_“Hey, don’t sound so angry. You left your wallet on the bus and I forgot to give it to you when we got off.”_

 

“On what? The bus?” He repeats the words in disbelief, using his free hand to pat his pockets and sure enough, the only thing that turns up are his keys. Which, in his case, are much more important that his wallet right now.

 

“And you couldn’t give it to me after we got off?” He groans, “Whatever, just hold onto it and I’ll run over and get it tomorrow, alright?”

 

He shuffles a few paces forward, exhaling a sigh of frustration. He hears some abrupt, loud chatter behind him, and turns around, glaring at what looks like a drunken man walking his direction. He rolls his eyes at the sight, and listens to what Chanyeol says.

  


_“Like I said, I forgot I picked it up by the time we said goodbye. By the time I realized I had it I didn’t feel like turning back. I work tomorrow though, so you’ll have to come to the store to get it. Not that you’d mind, I’m sure.”_

 

With the loud chatter behind him, it’s hard to concentrate on what’s being said, but he can hear the smirk in his friend’s voice, causing him to roll his eyes again. He glances at the male behind him and can’t help but to feel a little uneasy, even more so when he suddenly calls out to him. Words slurring and pace uneven.

 

“Y-Yeah, whatever.” He mumbles, turning back around to continue towards his place, now suddenly feeling more awake than he had previously. He hears him call again, and swallows, trying to walk forward as casually as possible, trying not to seem panicked, because maybe it’s him just being paranoid. Maybe he’s just taking it too far.

 

He hears more chatter and it’s unsettling closer now, but he keeps his pace.

 

“Hey! Punk!”

 

“I’ll uhm-I’ll be there before you get off, okay?” He says quickly, trying not to sound panicked, but that fails. He’s talking to the one person that knows him best, of course the panic is clear.

 

_“Baekhyun are you okay? You sound strange.”_

 

He glances behind him again. The man is much closer now, within earshot at this point.

 

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He replies hurriedly and ends the call.

 

Instead of running, like any panicked person would, he turns around. Ready to face whoever it is that is not only disrupting him, but the rest of the neighborhood. But with it being Baekhyun’s luck, he doesn’t even make it around long enough to face them. Two hands take him by the shoulders, grip strong and force stronger, throwing him against the closest wall, knocking every ounce of air from his lungs and sending his vision hazy in just seconds.

He struggles against it, wriggling around and spewing profanities, yelling at them to get to get off him but nothing happens, of course, what did he expect?

 

He yells again, half expecting something to happen, but all he gets is a slurred ‘shut up’ in return and a hard punch straight to the stomach, as if he didn’t just have the air knocked straight out of him, now he’s left wheezing and coughing again as the man starts going through his jeans, patting his pockets.

 

Is he getting mugged?

 

Never, in his twenty-one years of living has he ever been mugged. Ever. And never had he thought he would be.

 

Why now? His Friday was actually going decent and some prick has to come along and mug him? Tonight out of all nights?

 

“Where’s your wallet, punk?” He snaps. Baekhyun, who is still trying to get his breath back, shakes his head, “I don’t… Have it.” He wheezes, head dropped back against the concrete wall of the building, chest heaving.

 

“Stop lying!” The male yells again, this time throwing a fist into the side of his face.

 

Of course he won’t believe him.

 

“Where is it?”

 

“I told you... “ He mutters, “ _I don’t have it._ ” His eyes narrow and he tries to set his glare as heavy as possible, trying to do whatever he can to get away from this guy in one piece.

 

He’s thrown to the ground violently, causing him to roll and groan in pain, his eyes screwed shut as he tries to collect himself. Fighting against a drunk man isn’t going to get him anywhere, not at this rate. He already feels weak and is completely disoriented. One kick is sent to his side, directly after that another hits him, and another. Simultaneous kicks hit him, over and over, to the same place. The pain makes itself more and more evident, and he yells out trying to escape the constant beats of pain that don’t seem to be leaving.

 

All thought of his wallet must be gone at this point, as the only thing that he keeps receiving is pain.

 

Suddenly, everything is silent for a moment, except the loud thump of his heart in his ears, and his whole body throbbing with pain. A hand knots onto the front of his jacket, yanking him off the ground, and sending him straight into the wall again.

 

He flies straight against it, and before he can even let himself fall to the ground again, he’s pushed up against it, a few more punches sent to his face.

  


Everything has happened so fast, so instantaneously that he can’t think about something to do. He’s stuck here.

 

Tears are stinging his already hazy vision, he’s surprised he’s even made it this far. However far this is even considered.

 

 _Go away,_ he thinks.   _Please leave me alone! Out of all things, why do I deserve this?_

 

Why would anyone want his money? He hardly even has any, especially after tonight. He’s just some broke college student along with everyone else in this world.

  


He desperately uses whatever strength he has left in his muscles to try and resist, push back or shield himself but anything he tries doesn’t seem to make any difference. His body suddenly feels like putty. All his movements are faltered and weak and he might collapse without any support. All the strength he has is fading, and fast. He can’t seem to keep up with anything. It’s a total blur in front of his tear stained eyes.

 

He yells out to someone, anyone that might be around, but he’s faced with nothing but the constant pounds sent to his gut or his face.

 

He yells once more for the man to get off him, and reaches out as far as he can to try and push him off. He tries, clawing desperately for a relief.

A sudden burn, like fire is sent through his veins. As if if his pulse couldn’t feel any stronger, he feels it speed up, pace burning and quick. His once blurry vision becomes brighter,  more clear, in just a few seconds his whole body suddenly feels more powerful.

 

Like the strike of a match, Baekhyun feels completely ignited with an intense rush of heat burning through his veins, rising from it’s core and perspiring on the surface of his skin. As soon as his hands make contact with the body of the crook, a burst of bright, white light erupts, sending small sparks flying in all directions. The yellow light that lines the streets and dot the many buildings around them flicker in quick flashes before shutting off completely, leaving him in a dark, painful silence.

 

Just like the lights of the building, the strength he has is gone and flickers out in an instant. His muscles give out from under under him and he falls to the ground, heaving in pain and clutching his head. It feels like an axe cut down the middle of it, he can feel every ounce of pain penetrating his entire body in thick pulses. It’s unbearable, it’s agonizing, it’s overwhelming. The pain in his head though, is different. It’s sharp, loud, suffering, and causes him to yell out painfully into the bottomless streets.

 

He looks up, his vision hazy again and his eyes are hot with tears. He can barely see far enough in front of him to make out the man standing from the ground in a frenzy, yelling in fear and he scrambles off the concrete, and point to Baekhyun, who can barely concentrate on anything that isn’t the splitting pain in his head.

 

“Y-You’re one of them! Stay the hell away from me… You evil bastard!” He yells, turning and rushing back the way he came from in a flash.

 

Baekhyun is on his hands and knees, heaving for breath, trying to get himself back together. He feels himself shaking, and his tears falling, and he watches in fear as warm blood drips to the ground in heavy drops. When he tries to stand, he stumbles and plummets straight back into the ground. He feels like he just crashed into Earth. Senses all over the place, head spinning.

 

He coughs and sputters for air, but the force from that and the nausea from getting hit so many times causes him to retch all over the pavement, leaving him even feeling weaker than before.

 

He stays in his hunched position for a few minutes as he tries to use whatever physical stamina he has left to pick himself up and carry himself up the road. The pain is so intense that he can only make it halfway there before he collapses again in a fit of heavy coughs and wheezes, dry heaving like some sad animal on the side of the road. The winter air singes his lungs as he takes the biggest breaths he can, blood falling to the ground in more heavy drops.

 

Baekhyun gasps for air as he picks himself up again, falling back against the closest wall and squeezing his eyes shut as he wails in pain.

It’s unbearable, and totally overwhelming. From the moment he heaves himself off the wall, to the second he practically falls into small his apartment.

 

He falls heavily against the door, slamming it shut, and carries himself to his bed, not bothering to lock the door behind him. He doesn’t have the strength in him to even take his shoes off, or clean the blood he feels drying against his face.

  
  
  
  
  


He didn’t realize the state he was in until he reached over to grab his phone which startled him out of his deep slumber, sending pain through his whole body as he turns over to fish it from his jacket pocket. He doesn’t bother checking the ID, and taps around on the screen blindly with eyes half-open, answering it with a groggy and garbled ‘Hello?’

 

_“Baekhyun? Are you asleep?”_

 

He knows that voice. But there’s no name to go with it for some reason.

 

_“You’re supposed to come in today. You’re late.”_

  


Oh no.

 

_Oh no._

 

It’s his manager.

 

The person who pays him.

 

The person who’s probably about to _fire_ him because he’s _late_ for his shift.

 

He swears under his breath, throwing his bed covers off him and swinging his sore legs over the bed.

 

“Taeyon, I’m so sorry. I-I got mugged last night on the way home and I must have lost track of time…”

He takes a breath, doing anything hurts and he’s sure waiting tables is just going to make things worse, but he needs the money.

“Just please, give me few minutes and I’ll be there as fast as I can. I promise.” He breathes, inching closer to the edge of the bed, pain splitting through his body again, his head feels like it’s going to split in two. He slept in much longer than he ever thought he would.

 

 _“Woah,”_ She gasps. _“You got mugged? How? Where?”_

 

“Uh… I was on my way home after meeting with a friend. It was just down the road from my apartment.” He wheezes. He’s surprised that he even remembered that much considering how fast it all happened and how completely disoriented he was.

 

 _“No kidding…”_ She says, _“Y’know there was a power outage down there last night too. How strange…”_

 

Power outage?

 

 _“Do you need anything? Will you be alright?”_ She asks, worry evident in her voice.

 

“Hm? Oh- yeah. I’m pretty bruised and sore but… I think in a few days I’ll be back on my feet.”

 

_“Keep me updated alright? I’ll get someone in for you. Rest well, Baekhyun.”_

 

“Yeah, sure thing…” He mumbles,  “Thank you.”

  


The call drops and he flops back against his bed, letting his phone disappear off to the side carelessly.

 

“Power outage…” He mumbles.

 

He reaches blindly for his phone again, unlocking it and going to the internet to search up the words _“Power outage Mapu district”_

Sure enough, he’s given a list of articles of last nights strange occurrence.

 

_Mysterious Power Outage Occurs Near Hongik University_

 

_Hundreds Left Without Power in Mapu-gu District_

 

The list goes on and on.

 

He tries to think back to last night, whatever hazy memories his mind could recall. He remembers a bright flash of light, and lots of sparks, and then the lights flickered, and then he was home.

 

Bright light, sparks, the lights went out.

 

_Bright light, sparks, lights._

 

_Hundreds without power._

  


He was there for that bright light.

 

He saw the sparks and the lights flicker all around him.

 

His vision, his strength, _his mind_ . Everything suddenly became _different_.

  


_“You’re one of them! Stay the hell away from me… You evil bastard!”_

 

_One of them… Evil bastard?_

  


He’s overthinking this. Whatever that guy was talking about, must have surely been the alcohol.

  


As carefully as he can, he pushes himself up from his bed, and swings his legs over, leaning over slowly to untie the laces of his shoes as he slips them off. Then, as carefully as before, he pushes his sore body from the comfort of his bed and nearly stumbles when he stands on his own two feet. He glances down to see blotches of red against his pillow case, making him shudder, he’s really screwed up.

 

Pain litters his whole body, his head is still spinning; leaving him swearing and and aching even worse as he limps to his bathroom to see how bad things actually are.

  


He isn’t going to the hospital- He can’t. He doesn’t have the money or the energy to go. Staying home is his only option unless things really are that bad.

 

If he can walk, then he’s okay. That’s his philosophy.

 

And right now, he’s walking, so he’ll be fine.

  
  


Baekhyun’s heart almost stops when he finally sees himself in the bathroom mirror.

 

Dried blood is crusted down the side of his face, which is swollen, his right eye is blackened with a nasty bruise, and his lip is swollen and crusted with blood too. He looks like a total wreck, _and that is just his face._

 

He tediously slips off his jacket, dropping it on the floor, then his shirt, which ends up taking longer than expected.

 

Going slower to cause as little pain to himself as possible doesn’t seem to be making anything better.

 

He winces as he slips his shirt over his shoulders and off his head, “You’ve got to be kidding me…” He mumbles.   His whole right side is bruised a swollen, ugly purple. His ribs are definitely bruised, the pain and color, there’s no doubt. But they aren’t broken, thankfully.

 

He was really hit good.

 

“Agh, Chanyeol…” He mumbles, running a hand through his hair. He almost forgot that he has to go see Chanyeol today to get the one thing that caused him to get beaten up in the first place.

 

His fucking wallet.

  


He can’t just go out in public, not like this. He was hardly able to walk to his own bathroom, much less get out of his own bed. But he doesn’t want to make Chanyeol come all this way just for him, even though the male certainly wouldn’t mind. But, knowing Chanyeol as well as he does, if he saw the state Baekhyun is in, he’d throw a fit and stay planted right next to him until there was no longer so much as a single scratch. Chanyeol is sensitive like that. If he saw how bad Baekhyun looks, he’d only blame himself. Baekhyun doesn’t want that, this was entirely his own fault, and the last thing he wants is for Chanyeol to blame himself for Baekhyun’s stupid actions.

 

He tried to stand up to the guy who mugged him, so, yeah, he thinks he deserves this, among most things.

 

He’ll make an excuse, he knows he can’t stop Chanyeol from coming here, but he can keep him from seeing him.

  
  


Digging through the cupboard under the sink for epsom salt was as painful as actually getting into the bathtub, but it was worth it, in the end. As soon as he sinks down he’s enveloped by hot water and it feels heavenly. He nearly fell asleep, but his phone going off suddenly breaks him out of the few minutes of painless silence he was falling into.

 

He swears silently and tries to heave himself out, tying a towel around his waist and rushes for his phone.

 

‘Rushes’ as in he makes his way to his phone as fast as he can while simultaneously going the absolute slowest pace possible.

 

He’s totally fucked.

 

Thankfully, his apartment is just tiny enough that the distance between his bed and his bathroom isn’t all that great, so he makes it, but just barely.

 

He doesn’t bother checking the ID as he answers,

“Hello?” His tone ends up sounding more frustrated than he expects, and he nearly chokes when he hears who it is.

 

_“Baekhyun!”_

 

It’s Chanyeol.

 

Of course.

  


“Ah… Chanyeol…” He chokes out nervously, feeling a sudden rush of heat to his face.

 

_“It’s almost time for me to get off, aren’t you coming over here?”_

 

“Uhm… About that,” He trails, wondering if he should tell his friend the truth or stick to the excuse he thought up just a while ago. He stays silent for a moment, the sharp ache in his head that had subsided just a moment ago suddenly makes itself present again, this time more prominent than when he woke up, if that was even possible.

 

“Baekhyun?”

  


He hears Chanyeol, but barely now. Just like last night, he hears what the male is saying but can only focus so much. His head is hurting more and more, it feels like it’s crumbling from the inside out, disintegrating slowly and painfully. He sputters, as if to say something, but he can’t hear himself, he can’t hear anything because the ringing in his ears is too strong.

 

It’s happening again, the splitting, the ringing, the labored breathing, all of it.

 

He doesn’t realize that he’s on the floor gasping for air as if he’s really about to die. Everything is so loud, it’s as if the windows of his mind have totally crashed in and he’s left totally helpless.

  


The lights are flickering and something crashes.

  


His mind is breaking.

 

 

 

 

End of Chapter 1


	2. Out of Place

Chapter 2

 

 

 

 

 

Baekhyun awakes somehow feeling worse than he did this morning, if that was even possible.

 

The only difference is that he’s clean now, and dressed in different clothes.

 

He groans, and tries to sit up, but is faced with pain and a sudden strength preventing from him sitting up all the way, only being able to use his elbows for support.

 

That sudden strength happens to be none other than his best friend’s arm slung over his front as he sleeps away silently next to him.

 

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun shoves him once, then again, and the male stirs some, mumbling a few incoherents. Baekhyun repeats his name once more and then Chanyeol is sitting up, obviously tired and dazed, but looks wide awake as soon as he tunes back into reality and sees Baekhyun next to him.

  
  


“Baekhyun, I-The phone, you went quiet… I came here and you were passed out on the floor. What happened to you? You’re…” His words trail, thinking of the least hurtful thing to say commenting on Baekhyun’s unsightly appearance. 

 

“Fucked?” Baekhyun finishes the sentence for him, and Chanyeol nods. 

“When I came in you were on the floor, and your light fixture was broken. What happened?”

 

Baekhyun is silent for a moment. Thinking about how his ceiling fixture could have possibly ended up on the floor, and lets out a heavy sigh. He carefully begins telling Chanyeol the details of what happened last night. He tells him everything about the mugger, leaving out the details of the light and sparks, of course. Tells him that the fixture fell during the outage and he had been in too much pain to clean it up. He walks him through his routine of this morning, leading up to him passing out, saying he got suddenly dizzy and must have blacked out when Chanyeol called. He leaves out the ringing in his ears, and the way he was able to see the lights flicker through hazy eyes, and the intense splitting in his head because  _ that isn’t normal. _

 

_ None of that is normal…  _

  
  


Chanyeol looks totally beside himself once Baekhyun finishes explaining everything and he admittedly feels his heart break a little as well.

“So that’s why you broke the call so early last night… You didn’t-You didn’t want me to know and get worried, right?”

Baekhyun nods, hesitantly and watches as Chanyeol’s gaze turns away from his and down to the floor. He knows telling the male would have been much easier than ignoring him and not telling him at all. He can see the guilt in Chanyeol’s downcast eyes.

 

“Chanyeol, I’m sorry.” He sighs, “I knew you’d react like this. But I couldn’t have you avoiding your responsibilities for me though. I know how you are…” He admits. Chanyeol scoffs, and Baekhyun can feel the frustration that is diffusing from the male next to him.

 

“But still… You could have told me there was some creep around. It’s not like I’m on the other side of town, Baek.”

And he’s right. He and Chanyeol don’t even live that far apart, yet Baekhyun didn’t have the nerve to call out to him. The person who has always helped him when he needed him. 

 

Baekhyun admits his defeat silently, sulking back and sighing half heartedly. 

 

“Am I… really that transparent?”  Chanyeol says suddenly, breaking the sudden silence that has settled upon them. Baekhyun glances up and him, then back down at the covers, nodding.

 

There’s another beat of silence and Baekhyun smiles, and speaks up,

“Remember that one time in high school when I sprained my ankle playing soccer?” He says, glancing over to the tall male again, “You missed a whole week of school to make sure I was okay and ended up getting a call about your absences. Your mom kicked your ass and almost made us stop being friends.” 

 

Chanyeol chuckles again, nodding, “Yeah, how could I forget? I thought she was going to kill me, honestly.”

 

“Then there was that time in middle school when I got dared to go in that abandoned building? We got caught by the police and you were on the verge of tears because you thought I somehow disappeared in there.” He tries to hide the smile on his face, but the memory is so evident that he fails, causing the other to smile and laugh too.

 

“My mom almost killed me after that too.”

  
  


“You see my point though, right?” Baekhyun says, nudging the taller with his shoulder.

 

Chanyeol nods, eyes fixed on the covers a small smile fixed on his face. 

“I’ve been through this with you enough to see through you, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun says. 

 

Chanyeol laughs, but Baekhyun can still see that there’s something Chanyeol isn’t telling him. He wants to pry, and he knows Chanyeol is holding onto something he doesn’t want to, but Baekhyun doesn’t have the energy to play 20 Questions with Chanyeol, though any other day he would have, no doubt in his mind.

  
  
  


“Hey, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol says, walking into the room with pain medicine and water, handing them over to Baekhyun, the smaller hums, looking up from his phone and accepting the medicine Chanyeol hands him, throwing his head back and drinking them down with the water.

 

“You sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?” He asks, taking his place next to the injured male on the bed again. Baekhyun shakes his head furiously in response, “I’m fine. I’ll be fine. Promise.”

 

“But what about work? I mean wouldn’t it be better to actually have a note or some sort of actual excuse?”

 

“Chanyeol, I talked to Taeyon this morning. If I’m not any better within the next few days-”

 

“Which you won’t be.”

 

Baekhyun sighs heavily out of frustration, sinking further down into his bed, “You and I both know I can’t afford to go to the hospital. What are they gonna do for a couple bruises anyways, Chanyeol? Besides, I’ve only rarely ever had to call into work, if I don’t show up I obviously have a good reason. I feel better knowing that Taeyon knows the truth. She knows I’m not one to just… Skip.”

 

Chanyeol glances downward at this, inwardly knowing Baekhyun is right but still wants to find something positive to say anyways, to try and lighten things up, or change his mind somehow, but doesn’t seem to be getting anything.

 

“I’ll figure something out, okay? Don’t worry about me.” He says finally, eyes beginning to fall shut as the medicine is finally beginning to kick in. 

His friend remains silent beside him, but Baekhyun can feel his eyes on him before the bed starts to shift and he feels Chanyeol sink down next to him. 

  
  


He falls asleep with images of white light and sparks replaying in his head like a broken record.

 

He’s half asleep when he feels fingers begin comb through his hair and the words “Why do your veins look like they were set on fire?” are heard. His eyes flutter open briefly and he sees something he hadn’t seen when he woke up.

Down his left forearm, light traces of a burned, dusted red is rusted along his veins.

  
  


Almost like they were set on fire.

  
  
  
  


\--

  
  
  
  


_ “I told you- Yes, I know, and we’re looking into it but I need you to listen-” _

 

Sehun is standing outside of Junmyeon’s office, two hot cups of coffee from the cafe down the block are held nervously in each hand as he contemplates entering or if he should just turn around and give the coffee to someone else, like the trash can. 

 

Junmyeon sounds awfully busy in there, and he has been all day. Ever since last night they’ve been getting flooded with calls from the University about an unexplained occurrence that sent the power out of over 300 residents. Junmyeon looks like he hasn’t slept all night, and Sehun has hardly gotten a break himself. 

 

_ “I understand, but right now we don’t have enough evidence to co-” _

  
  


_ “Sir, I’m aware, we’ve been getting calls all night and we’re going to settle this but I need you to understand that we don’t have enough eyewitnesses to conclude this, we aren’t-” _

  
  


Sehun stands idly, looking between the door to Junmyeon’s office and the coffee as he contemplates his decision. 

  
  


Junmyeon, in all honestly, terrifies him. 

 

Sehun remembers him visiting all the trainees during their training period, and he would give warm encouragements to all the recruits, and would occasionally show up to lectures to aid in the lessons. He always seemed so bright, and seeing him in action was like seeing another person. Sehun, admittedly looked up to him during his training period.

 

But ever since his partner died some weeks ago, it’s like that warm person was replaced instantaneously. He’s despondent, cold, and he looks tired all the time. Sehun didn’t think that out of all the investigators in the department to be paired with, he’d get Junmyeon in first class. 

 

So far it’s been total hell. 

 

He hasn’t talked to Junmyeon but a few times. He’s only done mass amounts of  paperwork, and has hardly heard anything about whatever happened a few nights ago because he’s been too busy taking care of all the things Junmyeon has laid on him so suddenly.

 

He’s just about to suck it up and be a nice person and actually enter the elder’s office, but a sudden call from someone behind him has him straightening up and turning to face one of the other investigators.

 

He looks at him puzzled, holding his two coffees and he thinks he’s making himself look like a total idiot.

 

“You have someone on hold for you.” Is all he says, walking away. 

 

He has no idea who could possibly be on hold for him, but he’s almost running to his cubicle to answer nonetheless.

 

“Oh Sehun, first class.” He answers, hovered over his phone not even bothering to take a seat yet. 

 

_ “Oh Sehun, this is Chief Officer Choi.” _

  
  


Oh boy… 

 

_ “It’s been brought to my knowledge you’re paired with first class investigator Kim Junmyeon, correct?” _

 

He nods, and replies with a sputtered ‘yes’ after realizing that no one can actually see him. 

 

_ “Good, then I’m sure you’re aware that we’ve been getting swarmed with calls all day about an apparent occurrence a night ago?” _

 

“Yes sir, though I haven’t gotten a chance to talk to anyone. But I have seen all the filed reports.”

 

_ “I need you and Investigator Kim to go and scope out the Mapu area. Talk to the residents and see what they have to say. They won’t let us off until they see someone out there.  Get that mourning bastard out of his office, and report back to me. Understood?” _

  
  


“Yes sir, I’ll let you know, thank you.” He finishes, slamming the desk phone back onto the receiver and smiling to himself because he just got permission to go  _ investigate _ . 

  
  


Not only that, but with  _ his _ partner. 

  
  
  


He picks the coffees back up again, and double checking that he has everything, he turns around to head back to Junmyeon’s office. He knocks on the door a couple of times before swinging it open only to be revealed with… An empty office.

  
  


Where did he go? He was here just a few minutes ago?

 

Junmyeon’s stuff is gone as well. The lights are off, and not a soul is inside.

 

He huffs, if Junmyeon isn’t here, then he’ll go himself.  He turns around, slamming the office door shut a little harder than expected, and once he reaches the elevator, throws the coffee away in the closest trash can.

  
  


Heading out to the supposed scene was quite a trip, for sure, and all the excitement he had about travelling across the city to the scene was total bliss. But when he gets closer the University and sees all of the young people that are his age roaming around and enjoying themselves, Sehun begins to feel a little out of place. He can feel glances in his direction, and he’s sure he looks a little strange to everyone; A kid in his 20’s who should be broke and struggling is instead wearing a full suit complete with a holster around his waist. It’s certainly questionable, but then again, he’s always been a little bit of an outcast.

 

He wasn’t given any specific location, so he ends up walking around aimlessly for a few minutes. Looking for some sort of sign that he’s  in the right place. 

 

It isn’t until a large black SUV down the road catches his eye. When he comes closer, one turns into two and when he sees what’s next to that, he almost blows up. 

  
  


Kim Junmyeon, along with a few other investigators are all stood along a narrow road. People from the towering apartments overhead are outside speaking to the officials while Sehun stands by looking totally helpless.

 

Maybe coming here was a bad idea after all.

 

In all honesty, he thought it would only be him and Junmyeon, but he was completely wrong. There are four other investigators here plus him, and now he’s sure he’s made this seemingly small situation look totally blown up. 

  
  


Next time he’ll be sure to not take things so seriously. He isn’t sure what he expected anyways.

  
  


“H-Hyung?” He calls, walking over to Junmyeon who is chatting away quietly with a local, the two look over to him and Sehun swears he sees relief flicker in the older males eyes as he approaches. 

To the younger’s surprise, Junmyeon introduces him to the man he’s talking with. But instead of referring to Sehun as his partner, he only refers him to him as his ‘fellow investigator’. 

  
  


The two listen as the man talks about what he supposedly witnessed from the other night. Going on about how there was a deep booming sound and rumbling, then a large flash of light burst for a few seconds, illuminating the insides of apartments like daylight. 

  
  


The two glance at each other briefly before Sehun turns back to the man.

“Did you happen to see or hear anything before all of that took place?” He asks.

 

The man hums then says, “Well, I did hear some yelling. I only live on the third floor, so couldn’t make out distinct words, but I heard angry yelling. Then sometime after the outage I heard yelling again but it sounded more pained, like someone was hurt, you know?”

 

“You didn’t see anything though? You never bothered to actually to look out your window to see that someone may have needed help?” Junmyeon asks, causing Sehun to hold back a chuckle. 

 

_ These people are idiots…  _

  
  
  


“No…” the man trails, “If you heard and saw everything the other people here did,  you wouldn’t go out and help either, I’m sure.” He snaps.

 

“Well sir,” Junmyeon smiles, “I’m afraid that’s only true for you. Do you know if there are any CCTV cameras around here?”

 

The man scoffs, “Should be. You’ll have to check with whoever manages these buildings though.”

 

Junmyeon thanks him and turns around, walking a little further up the road with Sehun staying in the area. He scopes his surroundings out for any cameras or something that just wouldn’t look right, but doesn’t see anything. He’s about to follow behind Junmyeon, but something on the ground just over to his side catches him off. 

 

Blood.

 

It may not be what they’re looking for, but he finds himself bending down to check it out anyways. 

 

Fresh, is his first thought among seeing it. The red color is still very much visible though dried and it’s obvious that it fell to the ground as opposed to leaked. The quantity says that there wasn’t any serious injury but enough to sustain a painful amount of damage. It’s worth sampling anyways. 

 

He looks up from the spot on the ground at the surrounding buildings once more for any sort of camera but can’t see anything in sight. He makes his way over to the closest investigator, asking if there are any tests he can run, 

“They’re in the car… I don’t think it’s necessary though.” He says. 

 

“It’s still fairly fresh. I just want to check to make sure.” He says, thanking the investigator and making his way to one of the large cars to gather one of the tests.

 

The fantastic thing about modern technology is that he’s able to gather human or half human evidence in seconds. Because the Cambions are half-human they’re sharing only half of the DNA of a human, the other half, that being the demon, contains special cells that aid in the advanced performance the demons carry. The cells also aid in their Qualitas, which cannot be directly linked through cells since they’re too different, but the cells are different enough from that of a humans to be recognized through testing, which is all that matters. 

 

It’s just a few quick seconds, much like those bags police officers use to test drugs, these look like little electronic thermometers, but will light up with two different indications that change depending on the cells of the blood. The fresher the blood is, the more accurate the tests will be. 

 

If it’s red, it’s human. If it’s blue, it’s Cambion.

 

This one just so happens to be blue.

  
  


Sehun hums quietly to himself. Something went on here that may have been bigger than what they’re making it out to be but he doesn’t want to push it. Especially because he’s so new to this that there’s big chance that even if he was right, no one would believe him, so much as listen. Class one or not, he’s young and he’s new, that automatically puts him below the other class ones who are much older and experienced than he is.

  
  


He’s always been a little out of place.

 

“Hyung,” He calls to Junmyeon, who turns around to face him, “I think we may need to take a look at those CCTV’s.”

  
  
  
  
  


\--

  
  
  
  
  


Baekhyun feels safer with Chanyeol here rather than him being all alone. For some reason his mind feels heavier than it usually does and he isn’t sure if he’d be able to handle the isolation with everything that has happened recently. His mind keeps wandering back to the light and the sparks. The way the lights of the building blinked sputtered all around him before they enclosed him in darkness, the way he felt his light fixture shatter before he blacked out, the way his whole body felt like it was engulfed with flames when he put his hands on the guy that mugged him.

 

It was like he wasn’t human.

 

He felt like someone, something else.

 

Like he lost control of himself. 

  
  


And he did it again.

 

This time, it was in his sleep.

  
  


_ There’s darkness all around him, surrounding him, closing in on him.  _

 

_ It’s like being swallowed by the mouth of a great abyss. Loud and dark, he feels like he’s falling and falling is never going to reach the bottom of a pit that he wishes will reach up from the ground and press against his skin and bones so violently that he’ll wake from whatever this is.  _

 

_ Who ever he is. _

  
  


_ His mind feels like it’s been striked with matches that don’t ever seem to light.  _

 

_ His body feels like it’s been worn and played with and set out to wither in the sun when it’s become useless.  _

 

_ Useless, that’s what he feels like. Falling and yelling and flailing endlessly only for nothing to come of it. He’s useless. _

_ Whatever it is he’s falling to feels like some heated core of something and it keeps getting warmer.  _

_ Something is yelling at him, but he can’t make out any words. It’s like hearing someone talk through thick glass. There’s only so much to listen to and he’s so concentrated on other matters he can’t think and he can’t piece anything together and nothing feels right. _

  
  


He gasps and falls forward, ignoring the sudden forgotten pain, ignoring Chanyeol violently shaking him, ignoring the sweat that collects on his bruised skin, he gasps for air in large breath and he desperately clings onto the broad figure whose hands are securely wrapped around him. 

It’s a few moments of no response from Baekhyun that he finally comes back into his state of mind and asks Chanyeol what happened.

 

“You were… I don’t know, mumbling stuff?” He says, “It was like you were paralysed or something… I’ve never seen you do that before.”

 

“Baekhyun, really, if you aren’t okay then-”

 

“Chanyeol, I’m fine. I swear.” Baekhyun assures, looking up to Chanyeol, “It must be the meds or something… I… I don’t know. I guess my mind isn’t in the right place.” He finishes, reaching a hand up to run a hand through his sweat, now damp with sweat.

“I guess it’s the trauma…Does that sound stupid?” The statement turns into a question. He doesn’t even have the answer to why he’s acting like this. It isn’t like this is something that has always happened to him. He can’t place exactly why he’s acting the way he is, as much as he wishes he could tell Chanyeol straight up, he can’t. He doesn’t even know the answer himself.

 

“Baekhyun, you got mugged. I think anyone would be a little fucked up after that.” The other male chuckles.

 

Baekhyun sighs quietly, he could never be more confused about anything than he is with himself right now. Everything suddenly feels out of place. It’s like he’s looking at a reflection of himself but he can only see the outline. A silhouette of who he thinks he is but not who he really is. The person he’s believed himself to be up until now.

 

“You haven’t slept very long. It’s only been a couple hours.” Chanyeol mumbles obviously still sleepy. 

 

Baekhyun hums. Sleep doesn’t want to bring him under, though. For some reason there’s a lingering presence that has yet to make itself known. It’s strange, he feels like he’s already gone crazy, but it feels like something is around. Saying anything to Chanyeol would only cause panic so he remains silent with the other for a lot longer than they intend to.

 

Baekhyun has no idea what’s wrong with him, but he knows there’s a lot more than just some bumps and bruises. Other than the pain he doesn’t feel any different, but he knows his mind, his head, something in there is wrong.

 

Maybe it’s a concussion? Maybe he got hit wrong and it messed something up?

 

What if that light and sparks was from that guy, maybe he was attacked by a Cambion?

 

He’s never passed out before, he’s also never seen light like that before, so maybe it knocked a few things loose. Though he isn’t exactly experienced in anything medical, he knows there’s definitely something going on in his head that never has before. 

 

Or perhaps, maybe it’s his whole body. 

 

He glances down at his veins, dusted traces of dark, fainted red line perfectly along the waving lines of his own, creating a race of perfect lines down his arm. How could something like this have happened? Was the force that powerful? Does this guy not have control of his powers yet?

 

He can only remember so much but somehow he was affected greatly enough to be rendered totally lost.

 

“Chan, what time is it?” He asks suddenly, causing the dozing make to his right to jump a bit before fumbling for his phone,

 

“Little after ten.” He says. 

 

“Chanyeol, I slept for over seven hours, what the hell do you mean it was only ‘a couple’?” The older laughs, shoving Chanyeol who only chuckles. 

 

There it is again, he thinks. That something that that he’s hiding shimmers faintly in the way he loses his smile so quickly. Is it the faded red on his veins? The looming fact that he couldn’t be there for Baekhyun? Or the fact that Baekhyun felt so insecure about the matter of the situation the he didn’t bother to tell him?

 

“I know you were tired. Besides it’s not like there’s anything you can do besides sleep.” He says, standing from the bed and stretching out, “Hate to say, but I gotta go. I have to open tomorrow. I left you food though, don’t want you to starve… Or burn the building down.” He chuckles, making his way over to the door as the injured male scowls at him.  

“I’ll come check on you tomorrow though. Do you need anything before I leave? At all?” Chanyeol asks, slipping his shoes in and shrugging his jacket on as he retrieves keys from the pocket of it. Baekhyun shakes his head, thanking Chanyeol, “Not hungry, so you have one less thing to worry about.” He smiles, waving Chanyeol goodbye as the male very slowly inches out of the door, teasing Baekhyun as he hides behind it. Baekhyun yells at him continuously until it finally closes, leaving him in a thick silence once more.

 

Now, he thinks he can get something done.

 

He manages to heave himself out of bed and pull his laptop from his backpack by the door, plopping it on his bed, followed by himself as he pulls it into his lap and opening it up. He pulls up his browser and stares at it for a few thick seconds, tired mind trying to pull together whatever he could to make things sound right.

 

Slowly, he enters the words, 

_ Bright light, red veins, loud sounds, intense headaches _

 

All he’s given are symptoms of strange diseases he knows he doesn’t have, along with the CRI official website, with a few other Cambion related sites.

He’s about to give up his brief search when the sudden thought of a certain research paper he’s barely scratched the surface on surfaces in his mind, and he begins to actually look through the Cambion related sites. They may not be what he’s looking for, but they just might aid in this paper he’s desperately trying to finish within this next week. He could end up gathering just what he needs in order to finish this.

 

Clicking on one of them titled  _ Cambions: Precursors and Other Symptoms to Look Out For _ , he’s taken to the site which is filled with too much information for his injured head to actually comprehend. He skims over most of it and reads through unimpressed, taking in only bits and pieces as he squints to reread over sentences now and then. But he never clicks off of it. Despite barely being able to hold onto anything he reads, he still finds himself looking through the entire article.

 

He’s about halfway through when something catches his eye in the sea of text. It’s a jumble of words but he just barely catches it. 

 

The words, late precursors and severe head pain look stark against the page, and he ends up reading the entire paragraph, because maybe, just maybe, this is what he’s looking for.

 

_ Early stages of childhood is most often when precursors of Qualitas begin to show. Though in rare cases, precursors have been said to be recorded in adults in their early twenties. This is most likely due to the child being unknown to its abilities, the ability is too weak, or because (in rare cases) the ability is too strong to begin showing at an early age. _

 

_ A 1954 study on Cambions by Harvard researchers was conducted, lasting on thousands of different subjects from ages 20-45. All were recorded not showing any precursor abilities from a young age but when learning to harness their Qualitas, were conducted to have been showing the same symptoms.  _

 

_ 78% of the subjects were recorded having a Qualitas too weak to be shown through early childhood, thus making them unknown to their ability. Another 20% of the subjects were recorded having an ability that they grew up oblivious to, while the remaining 2% were recorded to have an ability that was too strong to be shown at childhood, and slowly built up into adulthood.  _

 

_ The most interesting piece of information to come out of the study was previously unknown by humans and other Cambions themselves. Researchers say that no matter the greatness of the subjects possessed Qualitas, the same discovered symptoms were recorded. All subjects were recorded to have severe head pain, like a splitting in the head; a loss of appetite or being unable to hold food down; loud, rumbling monotone sounds, or high pitched ringing in the ears; high body temperature; a dusted/faded color along the veins after use of ability; an increased number in nightmares without previously having any before; sudden bursts of energy; mood swings after use of abilities; environmental destruction of physical surrounding during sudden over-stimulation of the quality (also referred to as a ‘possession’). _

 

He squeezes his eyes shut, hands grabbing fistfuls of his own hair as he shakes his head, telling himself no time after time again denying that he isn’t one of them. He could never be one of those ugly monsters. If he was, his parents would have told him. Surely they would have.

He thinks carefully. There would never be any way that either of his parents would be one of those half monsters. His father wasn’t one, he was too genuine of a person to be. And so is his mother. She’s too kind, too gentle to ever be such a monster. If he was one of them he would be a completely different person. He’d have a completely different life, different friends, different everything. 

Chanyeol would never become friends with such. Neither would Baekhyun himself. 

 

It’s just the injuries. It’s the injuries taking effect on his mind, causing him to lash out and think too hard. He could never be one of them, there’s no way. He was never born to be such a monster. He’s never done anything spiteful or vile in his entire life. 

  
  


A knock on his door startles him suddenly, and his heart pounds suddenly as he contemplates answering the door. Though all thoughts of staying quiet suddenly burn as a muffled voice through the door says, “Bureau of Cambion Research, can you open up please?” 

 

He swears under his breath calling out to give him a moment. He scrambles for a hoodie on the floor as he nearly falls out of his bed, hobbling to the door to unlock it and coming face to face with investigators who definitely don’t look like investigators.

 

The two men at the door are quite possibly some of the most well proportioned human beings he’s ever seen in his life, and one of them looks vaguely familiar.

 

Scratch that, very familiar.

 

He finds himself saying “Oh Sehun?” quicker than he can think it and the tall male looks puzzled as he stares down at Baekhyun.

 

He quickly sputters an apology, “I just… We went to highschool together. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

 

The tall male nods, but Baekhyun doesn’t miss the friendly flicker in his eyes. The investigator next to him looks unenthused as he sidesteps a little more in front of Baekhyun.

 

“Sir, I’m first class investigator of the CRI, detective Kim Junmyeon.” He bows slightly, and the small red-headed male introduces himself as Byun Baekhyun. 

 

“And I suppose you know my colleague, Oh Sehun. Would you mind us asking you a few quick questions?”

 

_ Shit… _

 

Baekhyun nods silently, looking between the two taller males, preparing himself for whatever he’s about to hear. Not only is he scratched and bruised in front of his old high school classmate, but also in front of one of the most highly praised investigators in the CRI. 

 

He’s royally fucked. 

 

“If you don’t mind me asking then… What-What happened to your face?”

 

This… Should be easy? He can’t make up an excuse saying he fell, that’d be stupid and the detectives would see right through him. He can be a little more creative than that.

 

“Ah, college party. I got pretty roughed up this weekend, it’s nothing serious.” He smiles, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. 

 

The detective nods, “Lucky you’re young, once you get older, healing injuries like that feels like a lifetime.” He smiles, and Baekhyun chuckles, trying to cover up his sudden peaking nerves.

 

“Anyways, this may be a bit of a shot out of the park, but would you have happened to have witnessed a power outage on Friday night? Between the times of one and two in the morning?” He asks. Baekhyun hopes the males can’t see the flush on his face. 

 

He hums, “No, I wasn’t here,” He starts, “by the time I got home though my whole light fixture was on the floor. Like it exploded or something.” He says. “All I saw were news articles on it, but I can’t tell you anything else other than that.” He finishes, adding on a small apology afterwards. 

 

“When did you come home?” The detective asks. Baekhyun takes a breath in, “I dunno… Around eight or so this morning?”

 

The detective hums,nodding his head. “That’s alright. I just didn’t expect for it to have enough force to blow your light fixture though… You seem to be the only one.” He says, peeking past Baekhyun’s shoulder to see the supposed damage. “Would you happen to have friends around here?”

 

The younger shakes his head, “My best friend lives a mile away. I don’t know anyone else that’s closer.”

 

“As for the light fixture,” He says glancing behind him, “I couldn’t tell you. My window is close to the power lines but I don’t know if that’d have anything to do with it. I’m already unlucky as it is, that might as well add onto it.” He chuckles.

 

“Just be sure to keep a close eye on things. We ran a test on some recent blood traces outside from Friday that came out as being Cambion, so stay alert. We’ll release a statement once we get things figured out.” The investigator says, adjusting his jacket, and dipping his head towards Baekhyun, turning his back and walking off down the hall.

 

Sehun is about to follow after but Baekhyun quickly stops him, whispering his name. He turns around, facing Baekhyun, “I don’t even think you remember Chanyeol and I but-”

 

“You two were the biggest troublemakers in high school. I remember.” He smiles.

 

“Not to sound weird but… We’re proud of you- Chanyeol and I. You really outdid us.”  

 

“We should get together sometime then. Here,” He quickly pulls a small card from inside his jacket and hands it to Baekhyun, “Honestly, I thought you guys forgot about me.” He smiles warmly once more, and turns around just as his name is being called, 

“Don’t be shy.” He waves, and disappears down the hall. 

  
  


Baekhyun inspects the card, looking at the bold print and turning it over and back and then rereading it again.

 

**SEOUL BUREAU OF CAMBION RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATION**

**INVESTIGATOR OH SEHUN**

**FIRST CLASS**

 

It’s really official. His e-mail and phone number are printed along with the official CRI seal stamped and shimmering on the side of the text.

 

He really outdid them.

 

He disappears back inside, and slumps against the door, taking in a deep, shaky breath. He feels his eyes sting with tears for some reason as he clutches onto the small card on his hand. Everything suddenly feels so unreal. In just five minutes his world was turned upside down. Everything collapses on him at once, one whole tidal wave of emotion and pain and stress weigh down on him.

 

He remembers seeing his blood drop into the concrete.

 

His hands find their way back up into his hair again, balling into tight fists.

 

_ What is happening to me? _

  
  
  
  
  
  


“You know that kid?” Junmyeon asks as they arrive on the ground level of the apartment complex.

 

“Vaguely.” Sehun lies. “We used to go to the same high school.”

 

Junmyeon nods once, “Small world I guess.” He says, opening the main door and walking out into the cold air.

  
  


The temperature dropped considerably since they arrived. So much so that it had begun snowing, thick, white pearls of ice fall heavily into the ground, piling up in a thin layer around them.

 

“Go home and get some rest. We’ll check the CCTV tomorrow. We’ve been here far too long tonight.”

 

Junmyeon and Sehun walk silently together down the road. 

  
  


He heard Sehun from around the corner talking to that kid. 

  
Baekhyun, is his name. 

 

It’s clear they both had been close at some point in time. The way Sehun referred to him so comfortable but Sehun brushed it off as soon as he was faced with Junmyeon. Junmyeon almost begins to wonder why he did that, and that he shouldn’t be afraid to present anything to him but,

 

_ No. _ He thinks.  _ Don’t get close.  _

  
  


He just wants to know if the creeping red vines up the side of Baekhyun’s neck were what he thinks they were.

  
  


Because he tried to cover them with a hoodie. 

  
  


“Hyung.” The word has Junmyeon turning to face the other male.

 

“Get home safe.” Sehun says, turning his back and walking the opposite way.

  
  


Junmyeon says nothing and continues to walk.

 

 

 

 

End of Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ive been really excited to post this story shjfk
> 
> anyways follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/versolshua) and talk to me or whateva on [Tumblr](https://versolshua.tumblr.com)


	3. In the Dark

**Chapter 3**

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of The rest Baekhyun’s week consisted of the same things; 

 

Waking up in a cold sweat, excessive nightmares, painful headaches, and barely being able to stomach food, sleeping for incredibly long hours, then repeating the process all over again.

 

He missed an entire week of class and work.

 

He feels more exhausted than he did the day after everything had happened. Doing anything feels like too much for him and he considers himself as good as dead at this point. But since today is the only day so far that he doesn’t feel like he’s going to die at any given second, he gets himself up to go to class. 

  
  


Chanyeol had been his savior the whole week. Without him Baekhyun probably would have actually been dead at this point. He put up with Baekhyun’s whining, vomiting, cuddly tendencies, and never ending naps like they were nothing. He wonders how much patience the male really does have, and has no idea how he’s ever going to pay him back. 

  
  


“You’re alive!” A bright smile greets him as soon as he opens his apartment door, causing him to do the same. Chanyeol’s arms open wide and engulf Baekhyun into a light hug (so he wouldn’t hurt him), as if they hadn’t seen each other yesterday morning.

 

“Barely.” Baekhyun mumbles. 

Today has been the only day he’s looked almost as decent as he’s felt. His swelling went down a great amount (thanks to Chanyeol), along with the bruising. The red in his veins disappeared for the most part, but slight traces are still seen up close. His headache is gone, but his body is still hurting and he’s still somewhat nauseous.

 

But he can walk. 

  
  


“You look better than I’ve seen you all week, do you feel any better?” He asks, rounding the corner of the hall down to the elevator.

 

“Yeah, a little. I mean, I can actually think straight today. So that’s something.” He says, pressing the button to send them down. 

 

“You’re gonna have a lot of catching up to do.” Chanyeol says  as they step on, “‘Specially with that-”

  
“If you say ‘research paper’ I’m going drop kick you into the Han River.” The smaller glares, causing Chanyeol to chuckle. 

 

“There he is.” He sings.

  
  
  
  
  


Baekhyun hates the snow. 

  
  


It gets everywhere, it’s dangerous to be in, and the only people that enjoy it are kids who don’t want to go to school. Watching it is great until going outside is necessary.

 

“When did it start snowing?”

 

“Sometime after I left.” Chanyeol replies, hands in his pockets, “Little after ten, maybe?”

 

It’s piled everywhere. A good 4 inches so far at least and it’s freezing outside. The clouds hover over them in a light mist and he wants to turn around and go right back inside. Skip class, skip work, skip everything.

 

“Speaking of,” Baekhyun starts slowly, “You wouldn’t believe what happened last night. Just after you left.”

 

Baekhyun tells Chanyeol his entire encounter with the detectives and his brief chat with Sehun, he even pulled out the younger male’s card he handed him before he left last night.

 

Chanyeol nearly loses his mind upon hearing everything.

“I can’t believe he even remembered us.” Baekhyun says, slipping the card away in his wallet. 

 

Chanyeol scoffs and agrees with him. Stopping and pressing the button on the crosswalk, Chanyeol turns to Baekhyun, who eyes the signal sign across the road.

 

“So… Did you plan on getting together?” He suddenly pipes up, glancing down to Baekhyun, eyes filled to the brim with curiosity.

 

“Well yeah,” He answers, “You think I’d turn down an offer like that?”

 

“Crazy how we were just talking about him the other night.” Chanyeol says, eyes alight and beginning across the street, Baekhyun close behind.

 

“Small world I guess.” He says, retrieving his cell phone out of his pocket and dialing the new number before he forgets.

  
  
  
  


\--

  
  
  
  


By the time Junmyeon arrives back to yesterday’s scene, Sehun is already there, standing out in the snow bounding on the balls of his feet to try and keep warm as he talks to someone on the phone.

 

After the test came out positive as Cambion yesterday, they’ve been left with no choice but to check the CCTV from the surrounding buildings. After they managed to strike fear into the managers of the buildings, they scheduled to meet bright and early with one at 8 am to check the cameras, then be on their merry way.

 

As soon as Junmyeon comes into sight Sehun quickly rushes to end his call. 

“Yeah, that sounds great. Thank you Hyung. See you then.”

 

He quickly ends to call to say good morning to Junmyeon, who looks unimpressed as he usually does.

 

“I thought I told you not to come?” He snaps harshly, not even bothering to greet the younger.

 

Sehun shrinks back some but holds his ground. 

 

“You may not have. But Chief Choi did.” He smirks.

  
  


“You just do everything he tells you huh?” Junmyeon scoffs, shoving his hands into his pockets. This kid will just listen to anyone, won’t he? But of course, Junmyeon can hardly get a word past him. Since the first time he’s seen him, which is when he was assigned to Junmyeon, he’s really smart up, considering he was stumbling over his words just a few days ago.

 

“Yeah. It isn’t like you will. You’re too scared to even refer to me as your partner.” The male says, straightening up some as he walks the opposite 

 

“I have my reasons.”

 

“Everyone knows your reasons, Hyung. Take your time.”

 

Junmyeon scoffs at the reply. Stupid kid, he thinks. Take his time? He can’t just take his time, when someone he’e known for years has disappeared from his life with no one else to blame but himself. He can’t take his time, he won’t. A piece of him is gone and can’t be replaced and he’ll never get over it. He can’t come back from this. 

 

Stupid kid has never experienced death like this. Of course he wouldn’t know what it’s like.

 

‘Take your time’. What a stupid phrase to tell someone who is on the edge of losing himself. 

  
  


“Let’s get this over with.” He mutters, and steps inside the office building. They pace silently through the halls looking over the names trying to find the landlord (who is really the landlady, to their surprise) responsible for the building their looking for. When they find it, they’re looking at the CCTV in no time. 

  
  


“No electrical problems prior to the outage, correct? No rodents, leaks, nothing?” Junmyeon asks as he and Sehun stand over the computer of the landlady, who shakes her head. 

 

“No,” She starts, “the whole building is up to date on everything. Even if there were an outage in the circuits, it would knock out that building by itself, not hundreds.”

 

Junmyeon grants her to play the footage of that night and the two watch closely. They speed through and then stop once two figures come into view. The first figure is small, but male judging by the build. He’s walking up the road with a phone up to his ear and suddenly stops and pats his pockets as if to look for something as he glances in the opposite direction from which he was walking.

 

“Stop it there!” Junmyeon exclaims, making Sehun and the landlady both jump.

 

He clears his throat, “Uh, zoom in on the male, if you could please.” He says, quieter this time. She nods and does so. The image is grainy and hard make out due to the lack of light, but the outline of the face can just barely be made out. 

 

“Looks like the kid who we talked to the other night, yeah? Your little friend?”

 

He hears Sehun huff in response, and Junmyeon tells her to continue.

 

This time, the small male ends the call just as another figure stumbles into frame. He’s obviously not sober, by his body language it’s clear to see. The poor little male turned around and faced the approaching figure for barely a second before he was thrown violently against the the wall of the building. 

 

They watch closely as the poor smaller figure gets beaten viciously by the other figure. The poor landlady had to turn away from it she felt so bad, and Junmyeon felt Sehun wince a few times while watching it. Suddenly, the male is slammed into the wall once more, the male struggles weakly against the perpetrator’s grip. What’s interesting this camera’s visions begins to cut out. The screen flickers in and out and suddenly causing Junmyeon to narrow his eyes and lean further towards the screen in attempt to make things out. What happens, next, to all their surprise, is the bright burst of light that erupts as soon as the small males hand reaches up to the attacker. After that, the camera cuts out. 

 

The timestamp was 1:34 a.m.

  
  


“That’s it?” Sehun asks in disbelief, standing straight up as the landlady nods. “The camera’s run on electricity. They don’t have any batteries or generators to back them up. They stayed off until the residential power came back on.” 

 

“That goes for the other surrounding camera’s too then.”  Sehun mumbles, sighing in defeat. He swears inwardly, it was the outcome they hoping they wouldn’t get. Of course, there is enough evidence to prove that this was an non fatal attack, committed by a young male who lives in the area. Also judging by use (or lack of) qualitas, he doesn’t have a lot (or any) knowledge on his abilities.

 

The two rewatched the video a few times to try and get an idea on the physical appearance of their possible suspect and after a few notes, they decided to finish things off there.

 

“So what’s next?” Sehun asks, following closely behind Junmyeon as they start out of the building together.

 

“We’ll release a statement to the public so they’ll shut up about all this first.” He starts, opening the door of the building and starting off down the down the road in the bitter cold, the younger still following close behind, not faltering a single step.

 

“After that we’ll bring suspects in for questioning.” He finishes.

  
  


“What about the guy who initiated all this in the first place? I mean, isn’t he just as much a part of this as the other?” The younger asks, trying to keep in step with  the older and failing despite being taller. He trails behind like some lost puppy. 

 

“Are you defending this attack all of a sudden?”

 

“What?” He stops in his tracks for a split second then continues in pace again. “No, but… It doesn’t make sense for this to all be put on one person so suddenly.”

 

“Because you know him.” The detective says flatly. Not bothering to spare even the slightest glance at Sehun as he keeps forward.

 

“We don’t know anything about who that was. You’re just looking for a poor excuse to interrogate someone that probably didn’t know what they were capable of.” He snaps back, stopping in his tracks once more and staring at the detective with a heavy glare. 

 

He stops and turns to face the younger, stepping towards him a few steps, “You really have a smart mouth, you know that?”

 

“You’re too arrogant to even take simple orders. Someone has to put you in your place.” Sehun has a heavy glare set on Junmyeon, it’s intimidating, but not enough to crack him. It’ll take more than that.

 

Junmyeon scoffs, taking off his glasses and wiping the fog from the lens on his jacket.. This kid is really serious… 

 

“I’ve been doing this a lot longer than you have, kid. If you want to tell me how to do my job, spend hours of research, combat and testing then order me around.” He pauses, then chuckles sarcastically, sliding the 

 

“Those sick creatures aren’t innocent. They react on pure instinct and what you just saw was a prime example.” He turns around and walks further down the road. 

 

Sehun doesn’t move, he stays planted in the same spot, watching as Junmyeon turns around one last time, “Try defending them after you see what they truly become. Then come back to me.” 

  
  


Sehun waits until the detective is fully out of sight before even thinking about leaving. 

 

Kim Junmyeon is, no doubt the most intractable person he’s ever dealt with in his life.

 

Yes, he’s grieving, but he also has important tasks at hand that Sehun is trying to help him understand are important, and he’s ignoring every single one. It’s like everything Sehun says goes in one ear and out the other and he’s just left talking to himself. He’s stubborn and incapable of working alone. 

 

Junmyeon may be hard to crack under pressure but at some point he’s going to have to give in and accept that Sehun is here to stay. 

Defending the supposed suspect felt quite rash. The poor guy was jumped on first and became the unsuspecting culprit. With just one blow he turned what seemed like a drunken assault into a full blown investigation and now he’s being hunted. 

 

The attack was nonfatal. The scene proved that. 

 

The blood that was tested positive as Cambion was from the male who was attacked. Sehun saw how he laid on the ground miserably before he was beaten again. 

 

It makes sense for it to have possibly been Baekhyun, but out of all the people that live in that area, what makes one coincidence a set fact? They never even got to see the end of the clip since the power had gotten cut. They couldn’t see where he was headed or where the attacker went. It doesn’t make sense in his mind, there isn’t enough evidence to convict one simple act of self defense. The detective will just have to accept that Sehun has a different way of dealing with things, and take his stubborn attitude as a sort of ‘fuck you’ statement.

 

He ended up getting only one coffee this time, and dreading the rest of his afternoon as soon as he gets back to headquarters. He’s glad the end of the week is here, and he’s more than looking forward to spending some time with old friends later.

 

They weren’t all too familiar with each other in high school since Sehun is so much younger than them, but thanks to Chanyeol boisterous personality in the theater club, Sehun was half-assedly dragged into their little bond. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were (and still very well could be) the most loud and obnoxious individuals he had ever known. They had no fear of the thoughts of others around them and acted however they pleased. They shared a very close bond and Sehun almost felt bad for being around, like he was intruding into their relationship. He was so worried about being bothersome and was trying to stay out of the way that he never paid much attention to their carefree attitudes and definitely could have learned more from them. Unfortunately, his stubborn attitude and fear of judgment was too high for him to act so excited, so he remained feeling out of place even though he was more than accepted into what they had.

 

Tonight, just might be different. Sehun has changed, and he’s learned his own lessons and become his own person over time, just like the other two. Even with those lingering ‘out of place’ feelings he experiences more often than not, he thinks he can overcome that, and push them to the back of him mind if he just focuses on what’s in the moment, rather than where he stands. 

 

Baekhyun invited him to this, and he’s gladly going to join.

  
  


He walks out of the office building after the long hours pass by. He doesn’t dare pass by Junmyeon’s office, but he does get the sudden temptation to pass by the chief’s office to discuss the possibilities of changing partners. His pace slows as he contemplates the sudden decision, but he shakes his head and keeps walking. He hates the idea of having to change things up so soon. The chief assigned him to this position for a reason and for him to switch to a different rank and have to start over isn’t really something he’s willing to do to himself. 

 

Junmyeon is stuck with him. No matter how much he begs to work alone, Sehun won’t let him. They may share opposing views, but no one can deny Junmyeon has lead the knowledge of Cambions into an entirely new direction. So, that being said, Sehun would be pretty pissed if he were to get seriously injured, or worse, died because he didn’t have anyone around to save his ass.

  
  
  


“This is really exciting, I can’t believe he really agreed to this.” 

 

Chanyeol is slumped lazily against the wall, long legs sprawled out on Baekhyun’s bed, who is in the bathroom trying to cover up the still fading bruises on his face. 

 

“I guess,” He mumbles, “I still feel really uneasy about that other detective though. I mean, the way he looked at me felt weird. I honestly thought I lied pretty well.” 

 

“You’re overthinking it.” The male calls, not bothering to look up from his phone. “Just take tonight as an opportunity to forget about all this and relax a little. You’ve had a lot going on lately, I think you just need to take a breather.”

 

Baekhyun doesn’t say anything, Chanyeol may be right, but he still can’t shake off the glare that detective Kim had set on him during their short conversation. He’s been doing what he does for a long time, Baekhyun doesn’t doubt his abilities to see through people a bit. But out of all the residents in this neighborhood, what makes him think it was Baekhyun?

 

Yeah, it might have been, but there were a lot of people with no power. It could have been anyone.

 

Anyone.

 

Right now he’s trying to focus on making himself look more alive, and focus on tonight.

 

Chanyeol is right. He’s overthinking it.

 

Chanyeol usually isn’t one to speak when it comes to situations like this, but this time, Baekhyun gives it to him.

 

Tonight is a perfect opportunity for him to forget about all his worries, catch up with Sehun, and get rid of the thoughts that have been occupying him for the last week. Even though it was scary to think about the countless number of articles he read, that coincidentally apply to everything that’s happened, he denied it as being himself. It had to have been that guy, Baekhyun would have known if he was one of those. 

 

He sighs a quiet ‘I guess’ as he looks at the careful attempt he’s made to cover up the unsightly bruises on his face but he doesn’t even need to look over at the male to know there’s a prideful smirk on his face. 

 

The bruises are still visible, but much less than before, especially with the cheap make up he had to buy after classes ended, there’s a little more color in his face and the bruises look a little less unsightly. They lie in small dusted patches on his face, similar the dusted red along his veins, which he’s covered up with a hoodie. He’s had a love-hate relationship with the cold weather these days.

  
  


He shuffles out of the bathroom, flicking the light off behind him. Chanyeol’s eyes flick up to the male, brows raised in question as he watches Baekhyun stand silently. 

 

“You alright?”

 

Baekhyun hums in question, ignoring the sudden light ring in his ears and nods,”Yeah. Just forgot what I was about to do.” He says, taking a seat on the end of the bed.

 

“What time is it?” He asks suddenly, turning to Chanyeol who glances at the time on his phone, “Ten till seven. We should get going if we want to get there on time. You ready?”

 

Baekhyun nods and stands from the bed, Chanyeol following behind, grabbing his jacket and stepping outside with Baekhyun close by.

 

He locks the door, makes sure it’s locked, then follows his friend’s giant strides towards the elevator as his phone rings in his pocket.

 

A whispered swear slips as he sees the ID and he begins to silently panic as he and Chanyeol step onto the elevator. 

 

Sehun, no surprise, is already at their designated meeting place, while Baekhyun and Chanyeol are just starting to leave. 

 

Needless to say, he feels awful, and Chanyeol no less. They both end up running to the train station looking like a couple of madmen and they stumble through the sliding doors, both out of breath since cardio isn’t exactly their strong point.

 

Sehun asked to meet them in Hongdae, the same place of the nightclub attack and Baekhyun, being the too-kind-for-his-own-good-person he is, agreed. No protesting like he would with Chanyeol, he only agreed happily.

 

Chanyeol called him a total hypocrite as he laughed in his face. 

 

“So… What’d he say he wanted to do?”

 

“Uh,” Baekhyun is silent for a beat, hesitating about what to say next due to the sudden vicious thoughts that occupy his mind and the possibilities that go along with them.

 

“He said his friend is a performer. Apparently he’s got a concert thing tonight. Surprise, we get to add one more to our weird little group.” He says, standing up as the train comes their stop.

 

“Woah, really? So a concert? How cool! Sehun really has connections huh…” Chanyeol says, excitedly bouncing along next to Baekhyun, who is the exact opposite. Hunched over, arms stuck in place at his sides trying to fight off the cold.

 

Baekhyun never told any of this beforehand because he knew he’d bug Baekhyun all day about who it was they’d be seeing, who Sehun’s mysterious friend is, what exact venue they’d be going to, everything and anything that would pop into his bright mind, would fly out of his mouth quicker than the strike of a match.

 

Baekhyun would never have heard the end of it. Not to mention, keeping it a strange little surprise for the male until now made things kind of worth it. Chanyeol would have probably worn himself out with all the excitement by now, so telling him what they were finally doing after keeping it secret all day made it worth seeing and hearing the bright light that’s suddenly ignited in his friend.

 

“He said he’s be waiting out side. He should be around here somewhere.” The smaller chatters, looking around through the crowds of people trying to spot the younger. With his build, he shouldn’t be hard to find. Sehun sticks out like a sore thumb because, like Chanyeol, he’s unusually tall, broad, and incredibly handsome.

 

“Hey, you’re still-” Baekhyun is halfway listening to Chanyeol and halfway looking around the area. They’re pushing through people, stumbling over others, “Oh, sorry-” He latches onto Baekhyun’s sleeve, yanking him back in the process of trying to stay close, “You’re still feeling okay right?”

 

“Hm? Yeah, yeah of course.” He mumbles, continuing forward with Chanyeol’s hand still clutched to his sleeve, pulling him back to try and catch up every so often.

 

“It’s just… Coming here after what happened is… Weird I guess.” He says, glancing up to the taller who nods. “You just seem kinda zoned out. If you don’t feel well we’ll go home, Sehun will understand.” Chanyeol smiles, removing his grip on Baekhyun’s sleeve and instead slinging his whole arm around the Baekhyun’s small frame.

 

The closeness of his friend makes him feel a little better about the sudden anxiety that’s risen inside him. He’s looking for Sehun, but at the same time he’s almost half-afraid he’ll see someone or something else. He doesn’t know what exactly that is, but he can’t help but to look closer in every direction his eyes land.

 

Chanyeol suddenly stops in his place, causing Baekhyun to do the same, irritatedly asking him what the hell he was doing when he points straight ahead of them.

  
“Is-Is that him?” His voice is pure disbelief and his eyes widen in shock, almost like he had seen a ghost.

 

“Ch-Chan, I can’t  _ see _ . Describe him.”

 

“Tall, broad, black hair, really,  _ really _ handsome?”

“Sounds like it.” He says, following Chanyeol and silently thanking who ever blessed him with such long legs for times like this when he really comes in handy.

 

Sure enough, Sehun is standing there, casually dressed in a sweater, coat and jeans as opposed from wearing his usual clean cut suit and holster. His black hair is combed off loosely. He looks absolutely lost and helpless, and Baekhyun feels more guilty seeing him waiting outside in the cold, bouncing up and down and his hands shoved to the pits of his pockets to try and keep warm.

 

Baekhyun calls out to him, he and Chanyeol both runningly to try and reach him and he jumps from the sudden scare, though it’s quickly replaced with a bright smile as he and Chanyeol greet each other in a very tight embrace, Baekhyun doing the same after.

 

The two follow the younger down a narrow flight of stairs and into a two leveled venue where Sehun’s (still a mystery) friend would supposedly be performing tonight. They’re seated on the upper level, which seems to be a reserved section since the whole thing is mostly empty and covered in plush chairs and couches. It’s mostly dark aside from the blue-purple lights that faintly illuminate the room. They walk through some of the others and take their seat just across from the stage, all three of them sitting in a sort of triangle formation, slipping their coats off and setting to the side as they take a seat.

 

“So, Sehun, who exactly is this friend of yours performing tonight?” Chanyeol bursts as soon as they take their seats. 

“Oh? I thought I told Baekhyun-hyung, I’m sorry…” He starts, glancing down at the floor then meeting eyes with Chanyeol again.

“He goes to Hongik University, same as you guys. His name is Kim Jongdae.”

 

The look at each other, both in question. The name is unfamiliar to the two, and Sehun clearly notices, chuckling at the look they share with  each other. 

“I don’t expect you guys to know him. He’s majoring in music theory and composition.”

 

As if Chanyeol asking his abrupt question wasn’t bad enough, Baekhyun suddenly chimes in asking how they even knew each other.

Sehun sat for a minute and thought, almost as if he wasn’t sure himself how him and this Jongdae met. Which makes sense, half the time Baekhyun and Chanyeol barely remember how they met, so much stuck together. 

Sehun says that they met a little around two years ago when Jongdae, who was, and somehow still is a part-timer at some craft store who managed to help Sehun, who only came for a few things, buy a ton of unnecessary stationary during his training period at the CRI in order to take notes.

 

Pens, pencils, notebooks, markers, anything and everything, Jongdae managed to joke the whole way through ended up nearly running Sehun dry in the end. He ended up having to come back the next day for erasers. 

 

It was a strange encounter, but Baekhyun and Chanyeol can’t really talk. They don’t even remember their first conversation together.

  
  


They spend the next good thirty minutes talking about anything and everything they’ve been up to since they were seperated. Getting drinks, and talking on and on. 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol learned that Sehun was practically dragged through hell by the hair while he trained at the CRI. He explained to them the rigorous hours of physical training, and the grueling ones of paperwork that never seemed to end. He said there were a lot of graduates who just put on the lines of combat, Sehun happened to make it out as one of the lucky ones for showing utmost performance, earning him a special place for investigative work. Even then he still had to go through more grueling hours of training, but it all seems to be worth it. 

Considering that he’s got gleam of happiness in the tone of his voice when he talks about it, and how excited this sort of thing really makes him. He’s glad that one of them at least manage to get somewhere better than debt and loans and unforgiving professors.

 

Baekhyun then jumps to his other question, “So, you’re really partnered with Kim Junmyeon?”

 

The younger male almost loses his soul hearing that. His eyes roll, and he sighs deeply, nodding reluctantly. 

“Is he… Is he really that bad?” Baekhyun asks over the rim of his glass.

 

The male shrugs, “He’s just… He was never like this while I was in training. I know he’s been having a rough time because his partner died, but, I dunno…” He slumps back into the couch across from them, sighing heavily and staying quiet for a few seconds and then he continues, “He seems like he’s holding it all to himself. Everything I do to try and help him just ends up backfiring.”

 

Baekhyun nearly forgot about the news that surfaced just before the Cambion attack at the nightclub. Junmyeon and his partner were apparently involved in a pretty heavy scrap between a stronger Cambion and his partner ended up dying right there. Sehun joined not too long after as his new partner, and Baekhyun can almost see the detectives reasoning for his distance, but then again, he can’t.

 

“Just distant,” Baekhyun mumbles, “You aren’t wrong, he’s definitely having a hard time, but I wouldn’t pry. Let him have his time. I remember I was the same way after my dad died. Everyone that was around me was just bothersome and I didn’t want to associate myself with anyone. Not saying it’s the same for everyone, but I understand where he may be coming from.” He quietly takes a drink from his glass watching as Sehun sits in thought. Baekhyun isn’t the best when it comes to sympathizing with others, especially topics like this because he knows that other people handle things differently. 

 

Sehun has a look of understanding on his face, which releases some of the tension that has suddenly gripped Baekhyun tightly.  

  
  


He wonders how many times Chanyeol is going to continue to prove him wrong. His worries have suddenly washed away into the vast sea of his mind.

  
  
  
  
  


\--

  
  
  
  
  
  


Chanyeol and Baekhyun had a very hard time believing that Jongdae was their age and working in a stationary shop. He was far too talented, and far too good looking to be doing that, and the two ended up calling Sehun a dirty liar and about tried to force the truth out of him, which he begged that his original statements were the truth.

 

Jongdae had a very incredible voice range and very high energy for what he was doing despite the small stage and crowd. Through the whole set Baekhyun couldn’t tell if the euphoria emitting from Chanyeol was from the singer or the alcohol, but either way, Chanyeol’s obvious shock and amazement was not shaken off, especially when Jongdae finally came to greet them after leaving the trio on their own the whole night.

 

They greeted each other and got some more drinks and all sat down and talked comfortably. Jongdae is just as pleasing off stage as he is on stage and Baekhyun and Chanyeol had no problems striking up conversation. He was the embodiment of all things pure in this world, to Baekhyun. Funny, smart, talented and undeniably good looking, Baekhyun wonders what good he did in his past life to be so deserving of his qualities. 

 

The three, excluding Baekhyun, were becoming more and more relaxed as the minutes went on and the alcohol was obviously beginning to take effect on them. Baekhyun, being blessed with the unfortunate trait of being a lightweight was only able to make it through a half-glass before he got too confident. The others though, seemed to be having the times of their lives, chatting away, joking, laughing.

It’s not that Baekhyun feels out of place being sober, but he feels off. Something in him, or around him makes him slightly unsettled though he doesn’t pay attention despite the constant nagging feeling. 

 

His ears keep ringing on and off, and they’ve been doing that all night. Ringing very faintly, but just loud enough to bother him, and then it stops. 

 

Then it starts again.

 

It might be the sound system in the venue, he thinks. Or it could just be the possible head injury he sustained from the night he was mugged. 

 

Whatever it is though, will pass, and are not (he tells himself) the articles he’s reluctantly immersed himself into about Cambions.

  
  


He finds himself completely zoned out and when Jongdae breaks out into loud laughter he tunes back in again. 

 

He’s been incredibly confused with himself since the incident and even though he’s healed externally, he isn’t sure how much better he is on the inside. The ears ringing, the headaches, the random nightmares that have left him sweating and more confused than scared, everything that’s happened makes him want to believe it’s in his head. It all seems so unreal and unnatural for him that feeling these sudden things doesn’t make any sense to him. 

 

But his conscience keeps drifting back and referring the articles that have stated symptoms scarily relevant to himself. 

 

A nudge of someone’s shoulder against his has back into reality, he managed to zone out again. 

 

It’s Chanyeol. A silly smile on his face and his eyes elate with flavored alcohol.

 

“You okay?” He asks, shifting a little closer to the male. 

  
“Fine,” The smaller smiles, “Just a little tipsy.” 

 

Apparently his sad excuse played a whole different meaning to Chanyeol and his eyes suddenly fall in worry.

“Do you want to-”

 

“I’ll be fine.” He knows what Chanyeol is about to say and there’s no way he’s going to end his good time so abruptly. “ I think I’m gonna step outside real quick. I’ll be right back.” He says, patting Chanyeol’s leg before standing up and excusing himself for the moment.

 

He takes a deep breath breath as soon as his back is turned from the group. He strides down the upper level and down the stairs as casually as he can, trying not to make himself look like some overworked, anxious mess as he pushes his way through the knitted bodies on the main floor towards the doors. 

 

He has a “I’m-official-because-my-hand-was-marked-with-a-Sharpie” marking on his wrist so getting back in will be no issue as he slips out the door and up the narrow stairwell to the road. He goes around a corner into a more narrow alley where he slumps against the wall, taking big breaths to try and gather some sort of composure. 

 

Get it together, he thinks, over and over. Mentally trying to assure himself the ringing and ever more constant nagging. His eyes drag around the area and he doesn’t see a single soul. 

 

So it must be him. 

 

_ Breathe, breathe.  _

  
  


_ Get a grip, Baek. _

 

He doesn’t.

  
  


He feels eyes on him, he doesn’t know from where, but he feels it. He feels something, someone scrutinizing his every move, every blink of his worried eyes, detailing his every shaking breath. He feels it, and he can’t not deny it now. 

 

He just doesn’t know why seemingly one person feels like hundreds if not thousands. 

 

It feels like a scene from cartoons or movies where one pair of yellow eyes turns multiplies into a scattering wall of blinking eyes all focused one simple being. 

 

But there are no yellow eyes. It’s mostly quiet aside from the traffic and he doesn’t see anything. 

 

_ Please, let this be in my head. _

 

He keeps hoping for the fog to clear, but it doesn’t. 

 

Hoping for something he knows won’t happen won’t just blare the fog horns to clear everything away. He knows he’ll continue to suffer but for how long?

  
  


_ Fuck, what is this? What the hell is this feeling? Why can’t I get away from it? _

  
  


“Stop right there, Byun Baekhyun.”

 

_ What? Me?  _

  
  


He looks up from staring at the asphalt and nearly chokes when he sees two finely dressed men at the end of the narrow alley. One of them unrecognizable, but the other is clear as day. 

Detective Kim Junmyeon.

  
  


“Wh-How did you-Detective Kim?” Baekhyun gasps, staring in shock at the figure, frozen still in place.

 

“Baekhyun. I have a feeling you know I’ve been on your trail this evening.” He says. Baekhyun can practically see the devious smirk on his face even in the dull lights of the road.

 

He has no idea what to do. He doesn’t even know what he did in the first place. 

 

Unless the Detective was here under suspicion. 

 

About the attack.

  
  


“Where is Sehun? Is Chanyeol alright? You didn’t-“

 

“They’re fine, Baekhyun. In fact, they have no idea I’m even here right now. They’re inside, having fun, enjoying themselves, not worrying about you.” He cuts in, taking a few steps forward, closer to Baekhyun, making his heart skip in his chest. 

 

He doesn’t know why he’s getting so nervous. He didn’t do anything. That attack was not his doing. 

 

It wasn’t.

  
  


“Do you remember our little chat the other night? Hm?” 

 

Another step.

 

Baekhyun doesn’t move. He won’t. He can’t make the detective anymore suspicious than he has.

But what if Sehun comes out here? If he sees this, he’ll completely scrap everything they were trying to build. 

 

“Why wouldn’t I?” He says, taking deep, quiet breaths to try and keep his composure, trying to not raise anymore suspicion, but he can feel his heart pounding in his ears, he can feel how fast his blood is pushing through his veins, he can feel the adrenaline spark in every muscle.

 

“Poor Sehun is either too nice or too damn oblivious to have noticed.” The detective chuckles sarcastically. “How he got first class I’ll never understand.” He shakes his head, another two steps. The other detective next to him raises his gun, cocks it.

 

Baekhyun feels his breath catch in his chest. He swallows the lump in his throat.

 

“Detective, if this is about the attack it wasn’t me. I’m not-“ He sputters for an answer, an excuse, something to hold onto but he’s so nervous that he can’t move move. 

 

“One of them? That’s what the guilty ones always say.” The detective chuckles again, 

“It’s funny how you all say that. The attack at that nightclub, he said the same thing.”

 

Every step Baekhyun takes towards the detective makes him want to shrink back in fear. He has to hold his ground, he can’t let the detective become any more suspicious than he already is. If Baekhyun could somehow convince him… 

 

I saw everything, Baekhyun. You have the same dusted lines on your neck, no other bulb on that floor was shattered but yours, and I’ve reviewed the CCTV forwards and backwards and there’s not a doubt in my mind that the same cute face in the footage belongs to you.”

 

“Not to forget, the ever so useless Oh Sehun found fresh blood that traced positive as Cambion from the night of the attack. You can’t lie to me.” The man sneers, every step he takes closer to Baekhyun, only makes his heart thrum louder, as if it wasn’t loud enough already. He feels like the entire city can hear his breath shaking and his heart pounding. He’s never been more scared in his entire life.

 

He wants his legs to work, to turn around and run and just disappear from here. If Sehun, Chanyeol, or even Jongdae were to find out, they could be in incredible danger. This isn’t about Baekhyun anymore, this is about his friends. If he can lead them out of here, if he can get them out of here, he’d feel better but his nerves have left him glued in one spot, his joints feel rusted together, he can’t pay attention to any of his surroundings anymore. Not the gun pointed at him, not the detective, not the lights that appear to be flickering overhead like candlelight. 

 

“Kind of sad, really, I thought you were quite cute. But we can’t have your kind hurting people like this. Intentional or not, I’m sure you understand.” He’s taunting, Baekhyun can feel it now. His senses are overloading him, he can hear the detectives heartbeat as he steps closer, it’s fast, he’s just as scared as Baekhyun is. The younger screws his eyes shut, this can’t be happening. Not again. He tries to convince himself that this isn’t real. It’s one of those horrendous nightmares he’s been having lately. He probably drank too much tonight and is currently sound asleep at his or Chanyeol’s place. He’s not here. He’s not one of them.

  
  


_ Run, run, run.  _

  
  


A sudden smash and pop and waterfall of sparks has his eyes wide open. The three of them stand absolutely still in a thick black silence.

 

 

_ Run. _

 

 

 

 

**End of Chapter 3**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was interesting, hope you enjoyed  
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/versolshua) and talk to me on [Tumblr](versolshua.tumblr.com)


	4. Downward Spiral

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I played around with pov switches a lot this chapter so if they suck just let me know and I'll never do this again lol.
> 
> Also, sorry for being so late, there's been a lot going on and I've had a pretty awful case of writer's block so... Yay me?

**Chapter 4**

 

  
  
  
  


 

“Get him.”

  
  


Baekhyun takes two, quivering steps backward. Breath trembling, eyes wide as he flickers between the two figures who are stood still in the dark. 

He shouldn’t be able to see them, but he can. Faintly, he can see their figures in gray, he can see the gun pointed in his direction, and the detective wielding it running towards him.

 

He’s clueless, not a thought in his mind as he stands shaken and terrified. 

 

He stumbles backwards onto the ground just as a hand pulls at his collar and throws him sideways, tumbling straight into the wall and concrete of the ground. He groans and just as he tries to sit up the grip on is hoodie tightens and pulls him onto his feet, slamming him into the wall, knocking the air out of him. 

 

There’s a voice that starts behind the other man, Detective Kim. 

“Now, now, be careful with him. He doesn’t know what he’s doing. You could get hurt.”

Baekhyun is panting, chest heaving up and down, up and down, inhaling and exhaling heavy breaths, trying to hold onto whatever last bit of humanity he has in him but he can’t do it. 

His head is throbbing, and not because of the fall. 

His mind is racing and it isn’t from the panic. 

His hands are shaking and it isn’t from the fear.

 

He sees the sick delight in Junmyeon’s eyes, but he can hear his quivering heartbeat. He can feel his muscles tighten and release as he takes a fistful of Baekhyun’s red hair and pins his head back against the wall. 

 

He can hear the other man’s breath shaking ever so faintly, like whispers that don’t want to be so much as felt against the skin. 

 

Baekhyun’s hands clench into tight fists, trying to keep himself in one piece before he combusts but the feeling is too strong. He feels the cold metal of the gun against his head

 

That’s the only way to kill a Cambion, you know. 

 

All it takes is one clean shot through their possessed little skulls and they’re out cold.

 

“Now, Baekhyun,” The detective starts, voice warm and calm. It’s amazing that his personality is the complete opposite. Baekhyun squeezes his eyes shut, he can’t bear to look at him, more or less listen to him. One more word out of either of their mouths, one more breath and he’s going to crumble into dust. He inhales the cold air of the winter night, feels it consume him, stuff his lungs with a refreshing chill as he watches the two men infront of him as struggles, he pulls his arms, throws his head, anything to get him out without trying to exert the fire that’s growing in his chest. 

 

A punch to his face, a tighter grip in his hair, and the gun now in detective Kim’s hand, pointed under his jaw now has him shutting up. 

 

“What are you?”

  
  


He said three words. 

 

The gun cocks again. 

 

But he doesn’t close his eyes. They don’t screw shut in a star studded black like usual. He laughs a breathy, cocky chuckle looking the Detective straight into those fear laced almond eyes as he throws his head to the opposite side, away from Junmyeon and towards the other just as a gunshot rings in the silence. 

 

Just as a bright, blinding flash of white beams, illuminating everything around them in a vivid spark and vibrating boom. 

 

All at once, Baekhyun falls backwards, palms scraping in the concrete and freezing in the snow and he’s suddenly part of reality again.

 

He can still see the two figures, he can still feel his blood rushing, he can hear only one heartbeat now. He adjusts his eyes, focusing them on the gray figures. There, he see’s Detective Kim, staring at the other man, who is laying in the snow, soundlessly.

  
  
  


Baekhyun has his back turned in an instant. 

 

He runs, he’s up and gone as fast as he can possibly run.

 

He can’t go home, they’ll find him. He can’t go back inside, they’ll find him. 

 

He needs to hide somewhere,  _ anywhere _ that means they won’t find him.

  
  


He slips in snow going around a corner as two shots ring behind him. His blood feels like magma in his veins, his heart is booming like cannons are being shot, the feeling he has from that other night is back, he feels lighter, ignited with a million volts of electricity, he feels new, powerful, suddenly able to take on anything.

 

But he keeps running,  even despite the feeling, he doesn’t know where to go. 

 

Another shot, one more follows immediately after.

  
  


He turns another corner and pushes himself off the adjacent wall, chest heaving as he runs blindly.

 

The lights are flickering, he can feel the darkness behind him swallow him in every step he takes forward.

 

He watches, almost as if in slow motion, as the lights of a towering building overhead flicker out like candle light. Every stride is another streetlamp bursting into a flash and flicker of sparks, a loud pop and electric crackling.  He feels the cold dry his throat, he slips and stumbles along the snow slick concrete as he keeps forward, legs pushing him in all kinds of directions blindly, lights falling dark behind him from all sides until suddenly, he’s caught. 

  
  
  


It’s dark, it’s quiet, the pain in his leg is intense. 

 

He cries out, the sound coming out more choked and quiet than pained and bellowing. 

 

“I’m going to ask you one more time,”

 

There’s a voice from behind him and he turns around halfway to see the Detective standing at the mouth of the road. He pushes himself backwards, fresh blood spilling onto the snow as he drags himself against it. He’s panting as if he’s about to die and he can’t do anything but watch the detective slowly walk towards him, like some kind of animal stalking prey, Baekhyun now feels helpless, weak.

 

“P-Please,” Baekhyun chokes, “I don’t… I don’t know what to do.” The way his voice falls upon the darkness sounds childish, completely and purely terrified.

 

His hands grip around the leg where he was hit, putting as much pressure as he possibly can on the wound, trying to keep himself from passing out right there. 

 

There’s a hum that sounds from the detective nearby, “I can tell,” He concurs, footsteps crunching against the snow as he continues at a slow, even pace towards Baekhyun.

 

“Maybe I want to help you, Baekhyun-ah.” 

Baekhyun stares, eyes welled with fear as his eyes catch something on the ground in front of him, shiny and black, it’s a shoe.

His eyes only continue about halfway up until he’s staring into the barrel of the gun that’s been taunting him all night. 

His jaw clenches and his lips tremble as he tries to utter something to say. But this is Detective Kim Junmyeon. He’s the most calloused, condescending detective in all of the CRI. Baekhyun can plea all he wants and he’ll laugh. 

 

_ So this is it, huh…  _

 

Baekhyun doesn’t even try to save himself. He closes his eyes and he hears the gun cock once more. 

“I want to help make sure you’re kind isn’t here anymore.”

 

_ I’m sorry, Chanyeol, for not being there. _

 

_ Mom, I’m sorry I was never better. _

 

_ Dad, I’ll see you soon. _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


\--

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“ _ Hyung, are you sure he’s alive? I mean… He hasn’t moved. Just look at him. _ ”

 

“ _ I see him. He’s fine, Jongin. _ ”

  
  


Baekhyun sits up, heartbeat frantic, breathing erratic, eyes wide with sudden panic. He’s in a strange room with two strangers on either side of him, both of them looking just as scared lost as Baekhyun. 

 

_ Am I dead? Where the fuck am I? What is this place? _

 

He doesn’t say anything, and instead makes the bold attempt to throw the blankets off and get up but after doing that his whole body screams in pain, his head throbs and a sudden pair of hands have a grip around his shoulders, holding him in place. Baekhyun tries to pull away, pushing at the other male to try and pry him off but nothing works. He doesn’t realize he isn’t fully awake yet and that he’s completely in the wrong state of mind to even breathe right now but he still thrashes and pushes and pulls to try and escape the strong grip of the stranger who has him. 

 

“Jongin, go get Minseok-hyung, now.” The male says, still holding a very wild, disordered Baekhyun whose strength doesn’t seems to fade as he tries to pull away, and he does so, but only he pulls with so much force that he ends up falling off the opposite side of the bed just as two males enter the room. 

 

Baekhyun calls out (or thinks he does) for them to stay back as he pushes himself back up against the nearest wall, hoping he’d somehow sink into it and disappear from whatever this is. He closes his eyes again, hoping the pain in his head, his leg, his throat, everywhere, he hopes the pain will just somehow go away. But it doesn’t.

 

He hasn’t the slightest clue about where he is, or who these people are, or why he’s even here at all. His whole mind feels like it’s about to crumble and break and slide down the mountainous passages of his thoughts, taking everything down until nothing is left. His whole head feels like it’s being torn at and his whole body feels like there’s claws raking into his skin, over and over. 

 

His hands ball up into his hair, pulling at the red tufts as if he could somehow detach his head from his body. 

 

Hands wrap around both his wrists and pull them away, despite his strong will against it. He comes face to face again with the male who had tried to hold him down before and he immediately pulls back, his one free leg comes into contact with his chest, pushing him away as hard as he can, sending him onto the floor while another male, this time bigger has a grip around him. Baekhyun has no idea where the sudden amount of strength came from, it’s likely from the panic but whatever it is, he’s thankful it’s somehow stuck around this long because he pushes, pulls, punches and kicks the other male who has him, yelling and screaming sending his head into a total downward spiral. 

 

He hears the lightbulb crash but doesn’t acknowledge it, he doesn’t even acknowledge the needle that pierces into his neck, sending him limp in seconds.

  
  


“What-What the fuck?” Jongin, who rarely swears, looks completely petrified, understandably. They all do right now. Watching the small red haired male fight and resist as if he was some kind of animal was off putting in every way. It was hard to watch, knowing the pain and scare he must be in, even now isn’t settling and watching him scream and yell in pure agony made all of their hearts twist sickly.

 

“Get him back into bed. He’ll wake up in about an hour, we’ll try again then.” Minseok says, standing up from the floor watching as Jongin immediately picked the male from the floor, carefully as if he was glass, and lay him back into bed.

 

“He’s a fighter. You okay?” He asks, offering his hand out to help poor Kyungsoo off the floor, he accepts, pulling himself up and coughing a few times to clear the pressure that was just sent into his abdomen. He nods, quietly, eyes flickering to the now sleeping male. 

 

“He knocked out the light though.” Are his first words after nearly choking up a lung, causing the older to chuckle, “We’ll fix it later. Let’s leave him.” he shuffles out of the room, signaling the other two to follow. They do, hesitantly. Even though the scene they just witnessed was one they’d rather not face again, they’re reluctant and a little afraid to leave the redhead alone again.

 

“So, you think he’s the one who knocked the power?” Kyungsoo asks, closing the door quietly once all of them are out of the room. 

 

“You’re the one who saw him last night right? You tell me.” Minseok smirks, shuffling down the hall and into the living room. Kyungsoo stops in his tracks for a split second, taken aback by the older’s sudden statement then follows behind him, taking a seat at the far end of the couch across from the oldest.

 

Jongin disappeared, probably into his room to study for finals and work on projects that he hasn’t bothered to do until last minute. Second semester is around the corner and Jongin looks like he’s about to combust trying to finish everything in time. Kyungsoo and Minseok too, but to a lesser extent. They’ve actually been able to keep up with their assignments unlike Jongin, who they’ve had to practically supervise when they study to make sure he’s being consistent. 

 

Now there’s another problem that’s been thrown into their mix.

  
  


Kyungsoo huffs, resting his head on his hand as he recalls the events from last night. Everything was totally accidental. Jongin and him were coming back from a late night study session from the library and  _ almost _ had a run in with a CRI detective.

 

The really good one, too.

 

The two saw a really helpless Cam at the end of the road, clutching his leg, calling out painfully, it was a really heart wrenching sight. One they’ve been involved too many times before. Being surrounded by suddenly blinding streetlights and buildings that look like they might topple over when lying face up, and a silence that holds promises of death, it’s a feeling that despite it being one they’re familiar with, they’ll never get used to. 

  
  


When Kyungsoo saw the stark white eyes glowing in the pitch dark and a gun pointed right between them,  he and Jongin had the same idea and acted before that detective could even brush the trigger. Jongin was right behind the detective barely a second after the gun was cocked and sent a hard blow to his head with his elbow and Kyungsoo followed right behind. It was quick, and they managed to get the redhead out quite easily, thankfully. If it wasn’t for Jongin’s ability to teleport so quickly in short distances intervals, that redhead could have died. 

  
  


“I mean, the power was out by the time we got to him… So I guess?” He says slowly, still in thought about the authenticity of the situation. It made sense for it to have been him, but then again, it could have been anyone. Kyungsoo hates discussing topics like this, it just sets him on edge. It makes him nervous and a little frustrated. He’d rather ignore the inconvenience he was born with and work on other things that interest him. 

 

He slumps back into the couch, “We shouldn’t keep him here, Hyung. If he’s caused this much trouble already what do you think he’s gonna do for us? You know how hard we’ve worked to keep ourselves out of the way of those guys?”

 

He hates discussing stuff like this.

  
  


Minseok sighs, his eyes fall across the room, looking over anything that isn’t Kyungsoo’s heavy gaze across from him.

“The way he reacted was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. He probably has no idea what he’s doing.” Minseok tries to reassure him, but he only gets a small huff in response. Kyungsoo is usually never one to argue or put up a fight, none of them are, but it also doesn’t mean he ( or anyone else) won’t speak his opinion when he feels it’s necessary. Saving his life was risky enough, housing him, a criminal, is just adding fuel to the fire. 

 

“So you’re telling me that someone who can knock out nearly half the power grid in Mapu, has no clue what their doing?” The younger scoffs, rolling his eyes. He waits for a response but Minseok is no longer concentrated on him, but behind him. He turns his head to see a slumped, lanky figure in the doorway.

Jongin, of course. 

 

The two shut up as soon as they see the youngest, quietly wandering into the room. Eyes heavy, hair messy, clothes wrinkled, the epitome of a stressed student. They watch as he makes his way through the room, socks scuffing against the wood floor, hand ruffling his hair until he’s in front of Minseok and falls onto the couch with them, head resting on the older’s lap and his long legs stretched out almost all the way to Kyungsoo. 

 

Immediately, Minseok’s fingers begin trailing through the younger’s brown hair, making him hum and sigh in content. He says nothing, he just lays there absolutely clueless to the tension that’s settled among the other two. Kyungsoo shoots the older a look of question and Minseok speaks up finally, voice more quiet than before so he wouldn’t disturb the half-asleep male on his legs, “Some may find out later than others. We’ll talk about this later when he wakes up.”

 

Kyungsoo wants to believe Minseok, but he doesn’t say anything, he just turns his gaze away from the male. He has heard about Cambions who haven’t discovered their abilities until their early twenties or so. He remembered a study from a research paper he did last year about how some were recorded never knowing they had such an ability. 

 

It’s a scary thought, to him, at least. Knowing there are possibly way more demons out there but no idea because their precursors have yet to show. The amount of damage they may cause, especially on accident because they can’t harness what they possess may be just like this guy, or worse, in serious cases, someone or multiple people may end up getting killed, just over one accident. 

Stupid detectives ike the one they saw last night are the reason for this happening. Cambions have been recorded doing more good than ‘evil’ with their qualitas stopping who? Humans, from making bad decisions. 

 

But let one Cambion slip and they get a bullet in the skull, right. 

 

Sure, the attack in Hongdae was a lot, but the chances of a Cambion going on a rampage like that, statistically, are one (1)  in ten (10) .

 

One in every ten Cambions are likely to rampage like that, out of all the estimated Cambions in the world. 

  
  


Humans are idiots. They’ll only believe what applies to them.

  
  
  
  
  


Fucking Cambions will do whatever it takes to make sure their kind isn’t hurt. How… Altruistic.

 

Junmyeon is hunched over, head on his desk, not even bothering to try and do anything because doing anything hurts. He sighs inwardly when the door of his office opens and he sits up, furious at who he sees standing there, oblivious looking.

Fucking Oh Sehun.

 

But, he’s got a fire in his eyes at the same time.

 

“What did you do to him?” He snaps, striding forward towards his desk. 

 

Junmyeon says nothing, he just stares at the younger. 

 

“What did you do to him?” He asks again, palms flat against Junmyeon’s desk, the small spark now full on flame in just a matter of seconds. 

 

“What  _ I _ did to him?” The detective asks, standing up slowly, ignoring the pain in his head, “Why don’t we talk about what he did to a fellow detective, what he did to the people of Hongdae?”

 

“Sir, he wasn’t-”

 

“He wasn’t what, Sehun? In the right state of mind? He was scared? He wasn’t sober? What? He looked pretty damn awake to me.” He says, voice low and level despite his now rising anger. Sehun, on the other hand might as well have steam coming out of his ears. 

 

“I won’t let you hurt him. If I find out you try to hurt him or any of my friends I-”

 

Sehun really tries, but Junmyeon can’t admire,so much as praise him for that. He’s like a child, totally pathetic, useless. Junmyeon takes him by the knot of his tie and yanks him forward, both of them just centimeters apart. 

 

The one thing Junmyeon can admire Sehun for is his ability to keep a stone face. His face is stone cold and not a single emotion, besides the unrelenting flame in his eyes, so much as glazes over his eyes. 

 

“Don’t you dare try and get tough with me. You think you’re vehement attitude that got you through training will help you solve cases? You have no idea how fucking oblivious you are. Since the day you walked in here on your own you’ve been completely clueless. You’ve done nothing to help me, and you’re only setting me further back.”

 

His face still doesn’t change, not even a little. Impressive, he thinks. That would have been sure to make him flinch just a little. Sehun really is made of steel.

 

Junmyeon pauses for a split second and continues, “You don’t have a clue what you’re stepping into. You thought being an investigator was playing the hero? You think you were gonna save the city?” He asks the younger. Sehun says nothing, he only stares with that same heavy gaze. Junmyeon tightens his grip around the knot of the males tie,

“Don’t  _ ever _ try and stand up to me again. You don’t know anything.” He finishes, letting Sehun go and taking a step back. 

 

He can tell there’s a lot going through his mind, and he can tell there’s a lot that he wants to say, but doesn’t. Junmyeon turns his back to the male and hears him begin to walk out of the room, but when the door opens, it doesn’t close. He can feel the male standing there.

 

“Now I see why people talk so bad of you these days, too bad.” He sighs, he echoes the word again more quietly. The door still doesn’t close and Junmyeon stands with his hands gripping the edge of his desk as he listens for the male to leave. 

  
“Too bad I’m here to stay.” 

  
  


The door closes. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


\--

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Baekhyun feels like he’s going through a time loop. It feels like he’s relived the same scenario a million times already and he isn’t too sure if he’s waking up in a dream, real life, or some other universe. His eyes blink open slowly, adjusting to the yellow light of the room. 

 

The same room he’s woken up in countless times now. 

 

It’s blank. Blank walls, blank floor, blank bed, blank curtains, everything is a dull white that reminds him of the inside of an asylum. There’s a glass of water on the side table that sits so still it looks empty. The air is stale and musty, probably the sweat that’s coming from him.

 

He takes a deep breath to steady his sudden pacing heart, and runs his hands along the covers to try and get a sense of whether or not this is real. He holds his hands out, they look… Different. They’re scratched and raw, he has no idea what he did to them. He turns his arms around as far as he can, slowly looking at the damage. Bruised and scratched, the way they’re rashed and raw look it’s as if he fell against pavement. His head hurts too, but that isn’t any different, no different from how it’s been. He legs are sore from the most minimal movement, and his veins are dusted in rust again along the pale underside of his arms, making it stand out and look far more vibrant than it probably should.

  
  


His eyes scan across the room again, this isn’t Chanyeol’s place. He guesses it isn’t Sehun’s either, he’d probably have a little more taste than this, and it’s not a hospital either. It’s just a quiet, small, dusty bedroom that is obviously never occupied regularly.  

 

He peels off the cheap duvet and slowly sits up, being careful not to try and hurt anything that he may not have noticed yet, but surprisingly only feels the same pain he did waking up. Sore muscles and a throbbing skull. He reaches out with both hands, sweaty and shaky from the panic and adrenaline. He grasps it tightly as he brings it up to his lips, taking a very small sip before he downs the whole thing in one go. 

 

He nearly chokes on it from drinking so much at once and he needs more, but he isn’t sure if leaving is really the best idea. He has no idea where he is after all, but he needs to go home, he needs to study, he has to work tomorrow, he has to leave and has no choice. He swings his legs over the bed and takes his time standing. He’s hungry, probably dehydrated and his head is splitting. He doesn’t want to overdo anything or take be heard by the person who may still be here. 

 

Once he’s fully stood on both feet, he takes a shaky step forward, then another until he’s all the way to the door and and reaching his still shaky, sweaty hand out to turn the knob. He takes a deep breath, shaky and uneven, his eyes squeeze shut as he grips around the cold metal tightly. He turns it very slowly, eyes still shut, breath hitched in his chest, but he stops dead still when he hears footsteps approaching. 

 

He hears footsteps. 

 

He got caught. 

 

Are there cameras in here? Is he being watched by someone? 

 

In a flash he lets go of the knob and takes a couple of steps back just as the door opens, revealing a small male in the door.

 

His hand remains outstretched, his breath is still hitched in his throat, his eyes are wide as he and the male in the doorway stare at each other with the same wild expression. Baekhyun takes another, more clumsy step back, heavily eyeing the male across the room. 

 

“Who… Who are you?” Baekhyun is the first to speak up, voice breathy and stammered. He swallows nervously as he watches the male take a nervous half-step into the room, both hands raised defensively. He still says nothing though and it doesn’t ease the sudden fear and rushing adrenaline in his body again. Now he’s very confused. 

 

“I’m not- We’re not here to hurt you.” He coaxes, hands still raised as he takes a full step forward this time. 

 

“I don’t care, I just- Who the hell are you? Where am I? What…” Baekhyun exhales as he slumps against the window sill. Chanyeol must be worried sick, Sehun is probably pissed, he has no idea what’s going on or if any of this is even real. He tries to recall everything thats led up to this but the pain in his head is acting as a barricade restricting him from remembering anything significant.

 

“Stay calm. Please, I can explain.” He says, arms finally falling to his sides. He’s nearly the same height as Baekhyun, rounded features and a soft appearance, he doesn’t look all that intimidating. Though that probably doesn’t mean anything. 

 

“My name is Kyungsoo. My roommate, Jongin and I-” he stumbles over his words a little, trying to piece together everything in a way that makes it easy for the male to grasp even just a little, “You had a run in with a detective last night. Do you remember that?”

 

“What? What do you mean a detective?”

 

He sighs defeated, “What do you remember from last night?” 

 

Baekhyun looks away. He has no idea what happened last night. He’s been trying to figure that out from the moment he realized he woke up in someplace that wasn’t his or Chanyeol’s place. Not remembering what happened scares him more than the fact that he doesn’t know where he is. He breathes slowly, eyes stuck to the floor as he tries to sweep through the haze that are his memories but he only confuses himself further.

 

“Sehun and Chanyeol… Someone else… Sehun’s roommate.”

 

“Jong…Uhm… Jongdae. That was it.”

 

He was having fun, he remembers laughing and having fun, and then he left. Why did he leave? He doesn’t remember even having a reason he just left. He walked out and left them all there. Nothing makes sense. He would never leave a group like that. That isn’t him at all. If there’s anything Baekhyun loves, it’s talking, to abandon a group like that… What was he thinking? Was he even thinking at all?

 

“I don’t remember anything after that. I was just out… With friends.” He says, eyes not leaving the glossy wooden floor as a silence falls over the room. 

  
“Just… Wait here.” The other says. Baekhyun listens as he walks out of the room and the footsteps fade. He’s rightfully terrified, being in a strange place without any idea of what’s going on or what happened to him makes his heart stutter in his chest and his throat clench up with panic. He feels so lost. None of this feels real, it has to be a dream. It has to be. Just yesterday he was going to school and sitting through lectures and taking notes, and the day before that he was waiting tables and coming home to study. He can’t just end up in an exotic place with no recollection of anything that happened prior. 

 

His fingers tighten on the base of the window sill he’s leaned up against as he hears footsteps come back within earshot again. If these people can somehow pry out his memories, he’d be grateful, because he can’t remember a single thing. He wasn’t wasted. He never gets wasted. But somehow he’s ended up feeling more hungover than he has his entire life.

 

“How are you feeling?” A different voice chimes in this time. Baekhyun looks up from the floor to see Kyungsoo and another male next to him. Baekhyun blinks, he could answer that question a million different ways. 

 

“My name is Minseok, Kyungsoo told me everything that happened last night, you don’t remember right?”

 

Baekhyun shakes his head slowly. 

 

“That’s alright.” He smiles, “It’ll all come back later, you just woke up and the medicine is still wearing off.”

 

Baekhyun nods slowly. Throat tight and grip tighter against the plaster sill. 

 

Minseok tells him not to worry, that he and Kyungsoo and the yet-to-be-known Jongin are all roommates who, coincidentally, go to the same university as him. So he isn’t far from home. At least, he shouldn’t be.  If he can slip through them and make his way home in time for class tomorrow morning, there should be nothing to worry about. 

 

“Your name is Baekhyun, right? ‘S what your license said.” 

 

Of course. Of course they looked in his wallet. No telling what else they did.

He nods. He doesn’t speak out of fear of lashing out or stuttering and not making sense and asking too many questions that no one can answer. He doesn’t speak because in this moment, he has no clue what to say. He doesn’t even know how to properly breathe, how the hell is he going to form a coherent sentence? He doesn’t speak. He stands still.

 

“There’s no need to be afraid.” Minseok chuckles, “Maybe we can form a trust through some food. I’m sure you’re starving.”

 

He’s right, Baekhyun feels light as air and any furious movement makes his head spin. He feels like he’s on a boat that’s rocking to and fro and opening his eyes to watch the world bobble up and down feels like it’ll send him overboard. He looks at Kyungsoo, who looks a little less startled than he did when he walked in, he forces smile every now and then but Baekhyun can see the annoyance in his eyes. He can hear the males message just from glancing his direction. 

 

Baekhyun says nothing, instead turns his gaze back to the floor nodding faintly. He feels so awkward. He just wants to leave, wake up from whatever this is and go to class. He’s probably late. He needs to wake up. 

  
  


Kyungsoo glances over at Minseok, then back at Baekhyun, and immediately runs out of options on what else to do. 

 

After all, it isn’t regular for him to just bring some stranger in off the street then watch them go berserk because they’re panicked and possibly don’t have control over themselves. This is absurd, and he can’t stop thinking about how completely absurd it is. He doesn’t even know why he acted so fast in the first place. He’s watched other Cambions die in the cold hands of investigators before, so has Jongin, so why did they act to quickly thins time? What difference would it have made to them if he died?

 

He mumbles a quick fine and walks out of the room. Kyungsoo knows he’s too nice for his own good, he won’t leave the guy to starve, but he won’t force him to eat either. If he doesn’t want to, he doesn’t have to. But considering it’s been possibly a little over 18 hours since he’s last eaten, he thinks getting food into his system may make him a little more in tune with everything that’s going on. So he keeps it simple, Kimchi fried rice and some vegetables, easy, healthy, and nothing that will make him grimace. At least he hopes so. 

 

Minseok seems to get the same idea and (thankfully) leaves Baekhyun in the spare room, cautiously entering the kitchen where Kyungsoo prepares him a small bowl to start off with and meets eyes with the older. 

 

There’s a beat of silence, them just sharing looks with each other before Kyungsoo finally speaks up. 

 

“He eating?”

 

Minseok nods, “He’s shaken up, that’s all. Just take it easy on him, not that you wouldn’t but…”

 

Kyungsoo smiles as he passes by him, he gets it; go in, and get out. 

 

He gets past the first part, no problem. It’s the ‘getting out’ part that he doesn’t though. 

 

When he goes in and gives the male the food he made, he can’t see his face, but he assumes he was heard. Baekhyun has found his place back on the bed now, sitting on the end, back to the door and front facing the window. When the door opens Baekhyun jumps and turns, but not enough for Kyungsoo to see his face.

 

He should’ve knocked. 

 

Baekhyun clears his throat and gives Kyungsoo the fakest smile he’s probably ever seen in his life, clumsily wiping at his eyes and thanking Kyungsoo. Maybe, he thinks, he’s coming back a little?

 

Kyungsoo almost feels a pang in his heart at the sight. He takes a seat next to the redhead and clears his throat a little, unsure about why he even sat down in the first place. 

 

So he’s a little worried, a bit anxious about the well being of Baekhyun, but after what he saw- what they all saw, who wouldn’t be? Kyungsoo, Minseok, and Jongin have had their fair share of terrifying experiences with investigators, outbreaks and, admittedly, other Cambions. There have been far too many times when the three of them have had to make a run from investigators because they slipped up and showed themselves, when they faced the barrels of countess guns barely long enough to even realize that the next breath they take could be their last, the countless times they’ve watched powerless humans fall because they couldn’t think of any other means of defending themselves. It’s horrifying, traumatizing in fact. 

 

Kyungsoo can’t help to empathize with Baekhyun, which is, what he thinks, keeps him planted next to the male silently to make sure he eats okay. 

 

“So… You go to Hongik too?” He asks suddenly, causing Baekhyun to pause and glance at him, nodding. 

 

Kyungsoo hums and nods, “Undergrad?”

 

Another nod. 

 

He isn’t sure if he should ask his major or not. He can’t tell if he’s annoying Baekhyun or sounding too invasive. He’s really just trying to help make him feel a little less freaked out but he doesn’t know if he’s doing a good job or not. Starting conversation has never been one of Kyungsoo’s strongest qualities.

 

Baekhyun pretty much reads his mind and pauses in between eating, “Graphic design. You?” 

 

The sudden question shocks Kyungsoo and there’s a beat of silence before he actually speaks up, nothing but the sound of Baekhyun’s quiet eating next to him before he answers quietly, almost embarrassed with “Cinematography.”

 

Another quiet hum and  nod and silence settles again. Kyungsoo silently curses himself for being so damn awful at simply talking. Minseok says almost less than him but is still better at conversation with other people. He isn’t sure if he just leave or awkwardly stay and begins to question a lot until the male thanks him once more and it’s then that Kyungsoo notices the empty bowl and warm smile.

 

“Do-Do you want more? I made a lot, I wasn’t sure how hungry you were.”

 

Baekhyun looks at the bowl for a second and looks back up, nodding a little hesitantly. “I mean… You haven’t…”

 

Kyungsoo actually forgot to eat. 

 

He forgot. To eat. He really got so caught up that he forgot to get food for himself which  _ never _ happens.

  
  


“Oh yeah, I-Yeah…” He clears his throat and stands up taking the bowl from the redhead,  “I’ll be right back.”

 

He leaves quietly, not bothering to make eye contact with either Jongin nor Minseok as he passes by them to the kitchen. He knows Minseok doesn’t have questions, but he can feel the other’s heavy thoughts on him and Jongin is a whole other story. He does the same thing on the way back to Baekhyun’s room, this time carrying two bowls of food and a little more confidence than before. Willingly. 

 

Baekhyun eagerly takes the bowl Kyungsoo hands to him and the male thanks Minseok silently for telling him to make more than usual because Baekhyun is on his second bowl already and he has a high feeling he’ll ask for third. Kyungsoo takes his place back next to him and eats silently, just the two of them again. Kyungsoo wants to ask a lot of questions that are likely too inappropriate for the situation they’re in right now but decides against it and eats silently. If Baekhyun wants to know, he’s sure he’ll ask. Kyungsoo isn’t one to pry in people’s personal business, even if the situation includes the traumatic scene he just witnessed. If it doesn’t concern him in any matter, he doesn’t see it’s his place to butt in.

 

“Chanyeol.”

 

_ Fuck. _

 

“Do you- Where’s my phone?” 

 

Now he looks worried.

 

He remembers now. And that worries Kyungsoo equally, if he remembers he’ll become more worried, more confused, and who knows what else.

 

“It was dead when we found you. I’ll be right back.”

  
  


_ “Where the fuck are you? Do know how many times I’ve called you? How long I’ve waited at your place? Fuck Baek-” _

 

“Chanyeol please just…” He treis to be quiet, Kyungsoo left the room so he could call Chanyeol back but he doesn’t know if he’s listening in or not. “It’s hard to explain here. Where are you?”

 

_ “My place.”  _

His tone is apathetic, annoyed. It’s one of those rare times that Chanyeol is angry. One of those rare times  _ Baekhyun _ has made Chanyeol angry. No matter how good that fried rice is, Baekhyun is getting out of here. He has to. He’s way too far behind on things and if he doesn’t catch up soon then he can say goodbye to everything he was looking forward to before. He misses his old life, whatever that was before any of this started happening. Drinking shitty, too expensive coffee with his best friend, listening to pop music in his tiny apartment and failing miserably at cooking anything that isn’t ramyun from the convenience store down the street. He misses staying up studying shit that doesn’t matter and making neon flashcards that he won’t need after a year and scratching behind the ears of all the dogs on the patio of the restaurant he works at. 

 

Everything was fine before all this. 

 

He wants his stupid no good life back. 

 

He wants his stupid no good job and his stupid no good friend.

 

He wants it all back. He doesn’t want the headaches and the nightmares and the long nights of staring at the wall when he should be studying. He doesn’t want to look at endless study after study on those stupid Demons and then close his laptop out of fear because holy shit it all applies to him too well for it to just be coincidence.

 

“I’ll be over there in a few. Don’t move.”

 

He can’t stay. Fuck Kyungsoo and his really good fried rice and whoever the good looking Minseok is and the mysterious Jongin. He needs to see Chanyeol. He needs his best friend. He’s needed his best friend and hasn’t bothered to ask him for help because he’s to afraid that he’ll end up making Chanyeol too worried over what may be nothing. But he needs to talk to him. He can’t let busted light bulbs and echoing sounds keep him up all night.

 

He gets out of the bed, leaving the now empty bowl on the nightstand and looks around the room for his shoes, which are safely tucked under the bed. He doesn’t care that his shoes are on in the house, he doesn’t care about his wallet, or his appearance, or the damp feeling and musty smell from the snow on his hoodie, he slips it on silently, puts his hood up, and walks out of the room feeling more bold than he ever has in his miserable life. 

 

Except that only lasts until a figure, very tall, and very good looking appears right in front of him, in front of the  _ door _ .

 

“You must be Baekhyun, right?”

 

“I-Please, I need to go.” Baekhyun tries to push past him without being to rough but the male doesn’t move.

 

This must be Jongin. A tall figure with caramel colored skin complimented by bright eyes and dark hair, a jawline that was probably hand sculpted by Apollo himself.

 

“Listen,” Baekhyun shakes his head, ignoring the fluster he feels creeping on him, “I really need to leave, okay? I have stuff to finish.”

 

“So do I, but instead I wasted my time saving your life. You could at least thank me.” He smirks, more playful than arrogant.

 

“ _ Thank you _ . Can you please let me leave?”

 

“What, when you have Investigator Kim and his dogs on you? Do you have any idea what you’ve caused?” The playful smile disappears quicker than it had appeared and suddenly Baekhyun doesn’t feel so powerful anymore. As soon as he hears ‘Investigator Kim’ his whole almost comes crashing down. 

 

He feels like he’s walking through a storybook sequence of events. It only takes one word or object and suddenly a wave of memories comes crashing back down on him. 

 

He remembers the detective, he remembers the cold air in his lungs, he remembers the  _ gun _ . Fuzzy, still, but he remembers it all. Jongin seems to notice that too and worry flashes over his eyes as he looks at Baekhyun whose head is now pointed to the floor. 

 

“You don’t… You know what this means right?” He leans over a bit trying to get a look at the other who now refuses eye contact, eyes covered by messy hair and a hood.

 

No, as a matter of fact, he doesn’t. He has no clue what any of this means and he figured that was made clear a while ago. He doesn’t know who these people are or where he is. He doesn’t even know who he is anymore.

 

He shakes his head. He can’t be here.

 

“I need to go.” This time, Baekhyun uses all the force he can to push past Jongin, then the door. No one comes after him, not a sound follows from behind as he blindly makes his way through the apartment building he’s in on the way to Chanyeol. If there’s anyone that will help him figure this out, it’s him. Sure, Chanyeol can be a little vague sometimes and may not always understand, but he tries. He always tries, he’s always willing and somehow, he knows exactly what to do to make people feel better. 

 

It’s dusk, cold wind hits him straight in the face as soon as he steps outside and types Chanyeol’s address in on his phone. It’s not far. A good ten (10) minutes, a decent walk that he isn’t sure he’s willing to make since his head still hurts and his muscles are a little sore from having to actually run. He checks over his shoulder every now and then just to make sure there’s no investigator or possible mugger behind him and soon enough he’s being yanked into Chanyeol’s place and engulfed in a bone-crushing bear hug.

  
  


Chanyeol’s apartment is a lot more cluttered than Baekhyun’s. The guy is a very impulsive buyer and often times buys things he could probably go his whole life without. Instruments balance carefully against the wall and music sheets strewn around, and out of order, he hasn’t been here in awhile, the reason being it’s so messy he doesn’t bother to come. “You need to look at this.” He mutters, taking hold of Baekhyun’s sleeve and dragging him over to the couch in front of the television

 

The new is on, there’s a woman discussing something about another power outage but this time in Hongdae, where they were last night. She goes on talking about the outage and the dead detective and the interviews with witnesses and then the security footage.

 

The security footage.

 

_ The security footage. _

 

It’s crystal clear. Same figure, hoodie, face, everything. That’s Baekhyun. And right in front of him stands Kim Junmyeon, first class investigator from the Bureau. 

 

There’s a moment of discussion, then the lights flicker, then there’s a flash of white light before the footage cuts out and a close up of Baekhyun is in the right corner of the screen saying if anyone sees him, call the CRI immediately. 

  
  


He doesn’t say anything when Chanyeol shuts the TV off and sets a gaze that could kill an army on him. He doesn’t look at him, he doesn’t move, he sits silently. He’s in too much shock to really do anything. He feels like everything in his life has officially fallen apart beyond repair. The doors of everything he was striving for have been shut, locked, and boarded up.

 

“What was that, Baekhyun?”

 

_ I don’t know. _

 

“ _ Baekhyun _ .”

 

He isn’t sure what to say. He doesn’t even know himself anymore, how is he supposed to tell Chanyeol? It’s not like he’d believe anything he said anyways. If, and only  _ if   _ Baekhyun is a Cambion, Chanyeol would probably never be friends with him again. 

 

“That was you right?”

 

Baekhyun can only answer the questions in his head. He can’t say them outloud, he can’t even look the other in the eyes. It’s too much. After all he’s put Chanyeol through in such a short amount of time, he can’t do this. He’s wanted now, he can’t put Chanyeol through anymore than he already has, he can’t risk getting Chanyeol in trouble, or in worse cases, getting turned in by Chanyeol, especially now that Sehun is close with them. 

 

Fucking Sehun, he probably knows about this too now,   _ fuck _ .

 

He swears Chanyeol breathe out a swear. He’s suddenly forgotten how to function completely. His whole body and mind have shut down and he can’t seem to say anything in response to his best friend next to him. The one person he came here for, the one person he unknowingly risked getting caught for, the one person who deserves an answer and Baekhyun sits too pathetic for his own good to even come up with one.

 

“You know, it’s funny how just five minutes after you went outside last night, the power shut off.”

 

_ Yeah, funny. _

 

“Then, just two weeks ago the power shut off in almost all of Mapu after you got home. “

 

He’s connecting the dots now. Maybe he can figure this out and not be in so much denial as Baekhyun is. He hopes. Baekhyun can’t seem to believe anything because there’s no way, but Chanyeol, he just might tell Baekhyun like it is. And he hopes he does.

 

“Baekhyun,”

 

There’s a silence that weighs down, Baekhyun doesn’t look or speak and Chanyeol doesn’t continue after saying his name. It’s quiet and heavy and it makes Baekhyun turn his head head up and he almost regrets it. 

 

He must not have fully taken into account how exhausted Chanyeol is. His eyes are heavy and his hair is a mess and there’s no telling how long Chanyeol has stayed awake worrying and calling and texting and working and repeating all these hours. 

 

“I had three investigators come search my place this morning.  _ Three _ . I don’t… I don’t get it.”

 

He knows what he’s trying to say. Chanyeol understands, and Chanyeol has it all figured out and isn’t bothering to say it outloud while Baekhyun is still in full denial, full resentment about everything down to the details. He’s sick, maybe. Injured, delusional, schizophrenic, anything, anything but… Them.

 

Chanyeol just might as well go ahead and tell him up front. Afterall, it wouldn’t be the worst he’s felt after the past few weeks. 

 

“You…” He swears and this time he’s the one to tear his eyes off Baekhyun, almost as if he’s in shock, some kind of disappointment written into his features. 

 

He turns back and in one move he has Baekhyun’s left wrist and is pulling the sleeve of his hoodie up to his elbow to reveal red, dusted viens. 

 

“Still there.” He scoffs, “You know what these are right?”

 

Baekhyun pulls his arm back, pulls his scrunched sleeve back down his arm, of course he knows. He’s burned holes into his computer screen looking at countless pictures of the same cases. He’s torn himself apart looking at the black and white text of the studies of the people who have shared the exact same thing and yet he still remains in denial. 

 

Half of him does. 

 

Coming here sounded a lot easier in his head. 

 

“Look at me.”

 

Baekhyun hadn’t even realized he’s looked away again. He can’t even bring himself to look at the one person he needs right now. Why did he come here again? What was the point? Was there a point in the first place or is he just looking for validation that he isn’t fucking insane. 

 

Chanyeol repeats himself and Baekhyun still doesn’t listen. His head is in the completely wrong place. Why did he come here? He needs to go home and get ready for work, for school. He has notes to catch up on, a paper that’s overdue, rent that’s also overdue, and now Chanyeol.

 

Chanyeol, who is too kind for his own good, who worries over too much, is now holding back tears in front of him, all because Baekhyun can’t seem to get his head straight. Maybe he should go see his mom. If he had the time, it’d probably do him good. He probably needs to get out of the city, talk things out and see if she has answers. It’s his mom after all.

  
  


“Go  _ home _ , Baekhyun.”

  
  


Home. It sounds strange now. He thought Seoul was home. He thought anywhere is mom is, is home.

 

Now he isn’t so sure anymore. He can’t tell if he’s awake, if he’s asleep, if he’s having a nightmare or if he’s paralyzed inside his own mind. Everything that’s happened feels so unreal, so false, so incredibly materialized out of fiction that he doesn’t bother trying to decipher if what this is, if what the teary male in front of him, the shakiness of his own heart, the tremor of his own lips all happening in front of him is real.

 

He thought it was bad the first time. 

 

 

His mind is breaking. 

 

 

 

 

 

**End of Chapter 4**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay i kinda wanna die rn but I got a dog so that's chill.
> 
> If u wanna see cute dog pics (or get updates too ig) follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/versolshua) and if u wanna tell me what ur fave song on Countdown is, I'm occasionally on [Tumblr](https://versolshua.tumblr.com) as well! Sorry again for being so inconsistent, I'll try and get my shit together.


	5. The Sin of Persuasion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi i didn't expect this to be up so early but I havent had class recently due to the weather so now i can do *things*
> 
> I wrote 4000 words of this chapter in one sitting i dont know who i am anymore

 

**5**

  
  
  
  


Baekhyun didn’t think he’d ever have to call his mother in tears, not in a million years, but here he is, cross legged in the center of Chanyeol’s bed, alone in the male’s room while he goes to get some food for them. 

 

When she picks up his heart almost breaks. He didn’t want to do this. He shouldn’t have to. 

 

He hates having to do this, hates having to call her like this. She shouldn’t have to put up with this, with him and his stupid issues. He doesn’t call his mother like this, ever. Having to do it now, when she probably knows what’s going on, when she hasn’t heard from him in over a month, just tears his heart to pieces. 

 

He almost wants to hang up when he hears her voice, but his hand is gripped too tight around his phone to actually do so. 

 

He clears his throat, takes a breath, and tries to make himself sound as chirpy and bright as he always does when he calls her. 

 

He fails. She hears the tremor in his voice and immediately asks what’s wrong and Baekhyun almost hesitates to tell her, but does anyways with slight reluctance.

 

He tells her about getting mugged, but stops there. Anything more and he’s afraid his throat will close up and his eyes will burn with the threat of crying. He’s too tired to even think about all of that in the moment, he only tells her what made all this happen. He saves the rest, he can tell her all of that when he sees her, and hopefully by that time he won’t be dead by the CRI and will be on his break from school. 

 

She scolds him for not telling her sooner, and he jokes about it, like he usually does, apologizes, lightens the mood, and then asks when the soonest he can come see her is, because he misses her, and wants to eat her meals again. She asks about Chanyeol, he tells her that he’s doing just fine and about how he was next to him when he thought he was dying and about his night out with their old friend Sehun and his roommate Jongdae, he tells her about everything but the lights. Everything but the dead investigator, everything and anything but  _ that _ .

 

They say their ‘I love you’s’ and Chanyeol pops his head through a crack in the door just as he hangs up. 

 

“Well?” He asks. Baekhyun nods, silently in response. Chanyeol is still a little pissed about everything, everything meaning Baekhyun being dishonest with him when he really shouldn’t have been, and little about the fact that he’s holding a fugitive in his tiny apartment. But now that they’ve gotten the chance to hold a conversation for more than five minutes, Chanyeol has cooled down some and has become more worried about Baekhyun’s overall safety. 

 

Baekhyun locks his phone and puts it into the pocket of his jacket, 

“I’ll work a few extra hours until break starts, then I’ll leave to go see her.” He says, stretching his legs out as he shuffles to the edge of the bed, letting his legs fall of the edge as straightens up, watching his friend loom in the doorway. 

 

Chanyeol nods, “Just take it easy. We still have finals, too.”

 

Baekhyun sighs and falls straight back onto the bed again. Finals is he one thing he doesn’t want to think about. He’s had hardly any time to study and there’s no telling how much he’s fallen behind and how much there is to catch up on. After everything that’s happened recently he isn’t even sure if he can go to school. If stepping outside was so potentially dangerous, there’s no telling what could happen if he goes to school. He tries to convince himself that no one even watches the news anymore, that no one would be able to make out that the figure on the screen is him, that no one would ever notice and this whole situation will just blow over, but he has very little hope. No amount of convincing can make him believe that this will blow over anytime soon. He’s fucked.

 

He sits back up after a brief moment, runs a hand through his hair once, and pushes himself off the bed. 

“I’ll be fine.” He assures the male with a small smile as he  pads towards the door, following a silent Chanyeol down the hall to the kitchen. Whatever he was injected with earlier has definitely subsided since he’s been here, but his appetite hasn’t. The two, could’ve been three bowls of fried rice he had were only able to last for so long, after hours of tediously trying to explain things to Chanyeol with a hazy mind, he’s worked up quite the appetite.

 

“So,” Chanyeol starts up almost hesitant when they reach the kitchen, pulling bowls of food from two plastic bags, “Correct me if I’m wrong but… Did you say one of the people who found you was named Kyungsoo?”

 

Baekhyun wanted to forget the conversation he had with Chanyeol that included him repeating himself three times over for the male to understand, making it two words further then having to go over it again because Chanyeol had a very hard time understanding and making out what Baekhyun was trying to explain.

 

He shrugs, “Yeah… At least I’m pretty sure that’s what his name was.”

 

He grabs chopsticks from a drawer under the counter and turns his back. He knows Chanyeol is getting curious, he knows he’s getting ideas and with the position he’s in, Baekhyun doesn’t want to test them. 

 

“Couldn’t he help you? Or them? Whoever the rest were?”

 

Baekhyun scoffs, sinking into the couch with Chanyeol following right behind. Now that he’s had the chance to process the shit ton of information he laid on Chanyeol, he’s going to start asking. Baekhyun should have prepared himself more, but even if he knew everything that happened, knew the context behind the situation he’s in, he probably still wouldn’t have all the answers to suffice Chanyeol’s too-curious mind.

 

“I dunno,” He starts, “I got out too quickly to really hear out anything they had to say. Besides, I don’t think I should be asking for help from anyone when my fucking face is all over Seoul.”

 

“Okay, just… Hear me out on this,” Chanyeol starts, sitting with his legs crossed and his back resting on the arm of the couch to face Baekhyun.

 

Baekhyun nods. He told Chanyeol everything that’s happened down to the details unlike his mother. If there’s anyone he can trust with this information it’s him. If Chanyeol can help him figure this out before he leaves, he’ll feel a whole lot better about life even. Even if it doesn’t help the situation itself, he’ll certainly feel a little less weight on his shoulders. He’s still throwing himself back and forth between acceptance and denial and can’t rely on either side because neither are convincing enough to make him hold his ground for more than a few minutes.

 

“Right… So if I’m thinking of the right person, Do Kyungsoo? He’s a film major. I worked on some tracks for him a few months ago. If I give you his number, you have to promise that you’ll at least get a little clarification on all this.”

 

Baekhyun eats quietly, thinking. Even if he did get into contact with Kyungsoo and his friends he’d have no idea what to say, or what they could even do to help him. If anything he’d probably be making their lives worse. When he thinks back to what that cocky kid at the door said about how he ‘wasted his time’ to save Baekhyun makes him think that his ‘time wasted’ was really risking his own life. The last thing he wants is to put anyone else in danger. Chanyeol has already been searched, Sehun is probably holding onto his job by a thread, and if they find his mother, she’ll be next. 

 

Chanyeol knows a lot of people. He’s worked with a lot of the dance and film majors on composing songs. Even the music majors even come to him from time to time. Chanyeol is always willing to look for more time in his studio, so the amount of people that he’s come to know over his many hours of song composing is very… large. He shouldn’t be surprised he knows Kyungsoo, yet he looks at him as if he’s seen a ghost. 

 

Chanyeol is putting himself into further danger to help Baekhyun get his shit together. Baekhyun can’t figure himself out, can’t seem to put his thoughts in line, line his facts up and give himself the confirmation that he needs because he’s buried himself far to deep with denial, so Chanyeol is doing it for him. 

  
  


He jumps when Chanyeol’s phone lands right next to his thigh, screen lit up with the other male’s number and stares down at the screen contemplating if he should even be doing this, but he’s fishing his own phone out of his pocket and unlocking it before he can think any further. Baekhyun feels Chanyeol watching him from the other end of the couch. Hesitating any longer would just prompt him to start asking. 

  
  


_ Kyungsoo (I think): _

 

_ Is this Kyungsoo? It’s Baekhyun... Sorry for leaving on a whim. I panicked and had a lot of stuff to get to.  _

 

He sends it and finds himself adding another message on, he almost forgot to thank him. __  
  


_ >Thank you for saving my ass… You guys didn’t have to do that. _

 

Then another. There’s now a chain of three messages to the male and he doesn’t even know if this number is even his.

 

_ >Also your food was really good... I hope I wasn’t too bothersome…. and I hope this isnt weird _

  
  


He tosses Chanyeol’s phone back, brings his legs up onto the couch, tucking them in close, and eats quietly. Chanyeol turns on the television not too long after and they both sit in a sort of weighing silence. 

 

Chanyeol has no idea what to say to Baekhyun at this point. He has not a single word of reassurance because he knows everything he says will just pass straight through Baekhyun. He’s put together a lot of the pieces, and has a pretty clear idea that Baekhyun might just be a Cambion but he doesn’t want to take the chance of pushing it onto him. He knows Baekhyun’s views on these on things, he knows his opinions, and hinting at it will only make things worse. 

 

He hasn’t an idea in the world about why his parents didn’t tell him, especially when his father was alive about what he is… Might be. He’s never noticed anything strange about Baekhyun, even when they first met he’s always seemed very… Human. But now the red lines under his skin has him making some questionable internet searches and has him leaning further to one side than the other. But if that can somehow help Baekhyun come to a conclusion, without possibly hurting their friendship in the process then he’ll stay committed to that decision. 

 

Chanyeol has never really minded half-demons. They’re not all dangerous. He’s never bothered to mention the fact that he’s worked with a few on projects, like Kyungsoo, who is one of the more less outed ones. Though he doesn’t bother to mention that to Baekhyun, knowing that he’s got enough on his mind already.  They aren’t bad people, they’re normal as any other human it’s just that their more known violent side is what causes people to put such a bad label on them. Kyungsoo is one of the nicest people he’s ever met, one of the most open minded too, that goes for everyone of them that he’s worked with. 

 

Cambion or not, Baekhyun is Chanyeol’s best friend. After almost dying about fifteen thousand times and getting into arguments that old married couples couldn’t even think of over the years, Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s bond has become pretty much indestructible. Baekhyun has pulled Chanyeol into near death experiences more times than he can count and has proved time and time again that he can swindle Death with a smile. Even now, Death will pass when it sees those puppy eyes. This is just the cherry on top. 

 

Chanyeol turns his attention away from Baekhyun and onto the television, distracting himself with something else than the red lines tracing his neck. 

  
  
  
  


✧    ✦    ✧

  
  
  
  
  
  


Sehun’s bratty presence is annoying the shit of Junmyeon and he knows it. Everytime he walks into the investigators office to drop off papers, Sehun swears a little more of his soul leaves his body each day. He’s glad, too. Sehun isn’t going to fall down to Investigator Kim so easily, he knows who he is and he was strong enough to make it past training, he’s strong enough to make it through the older man’s heavy gaze and spiteful muttering as he leaves the room.

 

Despite his bratty, and probably overwhelming presence, he does feel a little bit of guilt for his partner and brings him a coffee each day from the place he goes to on his way to the building as a sort of peace offering. He doesn’t know if Junmyeon even likes it, he doesn’t know his craft coffee preferences, but he assumes he doesn’t hate it because by the time he walks in to drop off reports in the late morning the white cardboard cup is nowhere to be seen.

 

Sehun doesn’t really say a lot to the investigator, he knows he’s stressed, he knows the man’s feelings towards him, and he doesn’t want to take the risk of losing Kim Junmyeon as his partner so he keeps his distance. Ever since their little argument the night after the second power outage, Sehun has fallen a little further under suspicion about Baekhyun being considered the prime suspect. He doesn’t want to believe it, he doesn’t want to believe that his old friend from high school would kill someone with intention, he knows Baek wouldn’t, but the evidence is there. It always has been.

 

Sehun sighs as he kicks the door of his apartment shut, toeing his shoes off and shuffling into the living to drop his things when he catches his sneaky roommate Jongdae trying to slip out of the kitchen with a full tub of ice cream in arm. He calls out to him, waiting patiently as Jongdae appears in the door with embarrassment written all over his features. 

“I… I thought you were working late.” Jongdae says, the assumption coming out more as a guilty statement than a question as he looks from Sehun to the floor, lips curling inward out of  the embarrassment that his best friend just caught him in the act of trying to smuggle an entire carton of ice cream to his room.

 

“What reason do I have to work late? I’m stuck doing Kim Junmyeon’s dirty work all day and listening to people talk shit.” Sehun says loosening the tie around his neck and dropping his backpack down next to the couch and taking a seat. 

 

Sehun is glad that his hyung Jongdae is around these days especially. They started rooming together about a year ago and even though Sehun was a little nervous about it at first, he’s been able to consider Jongdae a real friend at this point.  He listens to Sehun complain about investigator Kim with patience and helps him out on the rare nights that he does stay late by ordering food for them both. He isn’t too loud, he doesn’t bring strangers home, he isn’t pushy or nosy, and he even contributes to the rent despite the fact that he doesn’t earn half of what Sehun does. In all, he respects Sehun and his privacy and Sehun does just the same in return. 

  
  


Jongdae hums as shuffles back into view, carrying the tub of ice cream and two spoons this time, handing on to Sehun who takes it gratefully as the older takes a seat next to him, cracking off the lid to the carton.

 

“Still being distant huh?” 

 

“Mhm.” Sehun hums, digging his spoon into the sweet stuff and sighs when he takes a bite, savoring the strawberry flavor as it melts on his tongue. 

 

Bless Jongdae’s sweet little soul.

 

“Even after the the coffee thing I suggested?” 

 

“Mhm.” Sehun’s eyes have fluttered shut, head leaned back on the plush cushion of the couch. Jongdae goes silent next to him. Either he’s run out of answers or he’s scheming some kind of something that will win the investigator over. Yes, Jongdae thought of the coffee thing. Sehun rejected it after he was too scared about the last time he tried buying coffee for the investigator because in the end, it ended up in the trash, along with his pride. 

 

“He sounds like the kind of guy to distract himself with heavy amounts of work while he grieves… Y’should buy him food.” Jongdae chirps, mouth full of ice cream. 

 

“I don’t think he even eats, hyung.”

 

“Then that’s just another reason to, right?” Even though Sehun’s eyes are closed, he can tell there’s a smirk on Jongdae’s face. Kim Junmyeon was not exactly easy to read. The man behind those thick framed glasses was different than what he made himself out to be. Sehun just had to crack away at his weak spots, whatever those were. If his training taught him anything important over the years, it’s that observation and composition of character are crucial. Being vulnerable and transparent is just a recipe for disaster, and ultimately; death. 

 

_ “Keeping a level head and observing the environment around oneself is valuable to an investigator. And a good one will know when the time to act and hold back are.” _

 

Sehun remembers the words from the man from training. To think that the older man is using the exact same method so that no one will get onto him for something out his control hurts Sehun a little bit.

 

_ “Don’t pride yourself in status. You’ll ultimately dominate your character.”  _

  
  


Jongdae was always very convincing, somehow. After their little pillow talk session on the couch the previous night, Sehun was just a little more determined on annoying the shit out of Kim Junmyeon at all possible costs. 

 

With courtesy, of course. Starting out with coffee. 

 

Jongdae is slowly going to drain him of his money with all of his outrageous suggestions at some point. But if it means finally getting through to the investigator, Sehun doesn’t mind a bit, as long as he can still pay rent, he’ll do whatever he can to finally get one step closer to establishing something with the man. 

 

But it’s hard to get a decent word in when Sehun wants to melt into the carpet of Junmyeon’s office everytime he walks inside to deliver papers and coffee. Despite his reputation of being able to keep a straight face, the day Junmyeon yanked him face to face with an iron grip on his tie and called him useless made Sehun rethink his entire career path in just a few seconds. 

 

He cried talking to Jongdae that night. Just a little. 

 

He carefully opens the door to Junmyeon’s office when he gets an okay and tries not to crumble under the hardening gaze that’s set on him as soon as he opens the door with a manila folder in one hand and coffee cup in the other. He repeats the act as he’s been doing, walk in without a word, walk out without a word. 

 

Walk in with a warm smile, walk out with an eye roll. 

 

Junmyeon so much as gives Sehun another glance and he’s okay with that. 

  
  


Sehun slumps into his chair when he gets back to his cubicle, he sighs as he sits back, swaying from side to side in the rotating chair as he contemplates if he really wants to go through with Jongdae’s decision. 

 

Their little brawl in his office had Sehun completely weak in the knees after, though Junmyeon’s words are powerful, they weren’t, aren’t enough to change Sehun’s mind. His opinion still heavily stands. Junmyeon, or any investigator for that matter, will not hurt any of his friends. Baekhyun included. Sehun doesn’t want to believe it but the evidence is quite prominent in the matter and Junmyeon is not one to tell a lie. Sehun doesn’t like Cambion’s. He despises them, if anything. But he doesn’t see the point in killing one if they haven’t done any harm, though his hot-headed partner seems to disagree. 

 

Baekhyun was a topic he didn’t want to think about. His whole situation has only gotten worse and what’s really aggravating is that Sehun and Junmyeon are in charge of this investigation. Sehun should be investigating the death of a fellow officer and yet he’s slumped at his desk watching the logo of his desktop bounce around the walls of the screen. He feels like he’s betraying everything, everyone by going through with this investigation, but he knows he has to. Baekhyun is a good person with good intention. An art student with a right personality and a way of expression and he would never intentionally mean harm, but he has no idea what he’s stepped into, he has no idea how out of control this might be if he isn’t detained. Baekhyun could snap again at any moment and there won’t just be one casualty as a result.

 

Sehun is honest. Sehun will remain with his word and will not let anyone get hurt in the process. He won’t let Junmyeon throw orders when he has just as much control in this situation. 

  
  


Buying Investigator Kim some food sounds like a great idea now. 

  
  
  


When Sehun is clocked out and leaving the office with a handful of others he turns left down the sidewalk instead of right, towards a restaurant where he called in an order to take back to headquarters and talk shit out with Junmyeon. He’s sick of this. The more Jongdae’s words weighed in on him the more frustrated he felt and he wanted to get this over with. If they were going to take this investigation by the horns they had to have some sort of basis, some kind of link to be ready to face it head on. Sparing glances and acting mighty when it wasn’t needed would only make this go by slower. 

 

Sehun may not be Yifan, but he sure as hell can try and fill the gap.

  
  


The sun has since set behind the buildings, casting a looming shadow over the streets as he walks back to try and beat the settling cold. One hand is shoved as deep as it can go in his pocket while the other clutches around the plastic bag so tight his knuckles were white. He hurriedly skips up the steps of the building, scanning his card at the door before he enters. As he steps on the elevator he mentally goes through the list of things he planned to talk about with his partner, starting off with an apology. 

 

He felt a little discouraged when he stepped off to see the light of the man’s still on, pouring under the crack of the door in a cool glow. He halfway hoped Junmyeon wouldn’t be there so he could just go home. 

The floor was mostly, if not all, empty. Maybe Jongdae was right, maybe Junmyeon does pass time and forget about the bad stuff by constantly working. Which, if that’s true, is incredibly unhealthy and will ultimately make things worse. 

 

When Yifan was still alive and they came to aid in training while Sehun was still there, Junmyeon was different. He was always soft, happy, seemed like the kind of guy who would go home at the same time everyday and cook some kind of low-carb, fiber induced dinner with some red wine and maybe have some kind of cute fluffy little dog with a dumb name. Now he’s tired, mean, and has nothing good to say and is the topic of any and all shit talk around the building. 

  
  


He knocks twice, waits for an okay, and enters, leaving his pride and dignity to wander the dim hallways outside as he meets eyes with the investigator as he steps inside. 

 

Sehun is quick to take the first word as the man looks at the heavy bag dangling at his side, then up at the young man, eyes dull yet still questioning. 

 

“You seem to stay late a lot so… I figured that… You know, you might be hungry.”

 

Junmyeon sits quietly, eyes still fixed on Sehun who shifts his weight form one leg to another.

 

“Think of this as my way of apologizing… For, y’know…” He doesn’t want to bring up what happened, but Junymeon’s hard gaze softens very slightly and the first time, Sehun thinks, his shoulders relaxed a little. He’s always tense. 

 

Junmyeon still stays silent, either he’s too flattered by the gesture or tired to care. Sehun’s mind has run completely blank. It hasn’t even been five minutes but yet it’s already felt like an hour, and his head is totally empty. The list he went over three times in the elevator has jumped out of existence and Sehun is left to his instincts.

 

He (cautiously) walks to Junmyeon’s desk, setting the bag down on the far end of the desk and pulling the contents out as Junymeon typed away without care at his computer. 

 

“Was the coffee not enough for you?”

 

Sehun looks up when he hears the voice, raspy, low, tired. Junmyeon didn’t so much as pause when he spoke but it was enough to cause Sehun to go completely stiff. 

 

“Nothing is enough for me.” He mutters, setting the styrofoam containers down on the desk along with chopsticks. 

 

“Obviously.” Junmyeon says lowly. 

 

Sehun mentally high-fives himself because they’re getting somewhere.

  
  


“You should eat, I didn’t buy all of this for you to ignore it.” Sehun huffs, setting out two small plastic cups filled with soup. 

 

“What do you want Oh Sehun?” Junmyeon asks suddenly. 

 

“For you to eat.”

 

“Go home.”

 

“Not until you eat, sir.”

  
  


Junmyeon pauses, finally and Sehun breathes a quiet sigh of relief but sucks in another nervous gulp of air as Junmyeon turns and faces him. Sehun is planted firmly in one of the chairs across Junmyeon’s desk and he tries his best to not look like he wants combust right there. 

 

“If I accept your apology will you leave?”

 

“I paid for this meal and refuse leave until I’m sure it won’t end up in the trash, sir.”

 

Sehun is starting to loosen up, he can feel the tension releasing in his muscles as he watches Junmyeon try and stir up another excuse and fail, sighing as he sinks into the leather of his chair, taking off his glasses and setting them to the side. He looks good with or without them on and Sehun reminds himself that now is not the time for admiration.

 

Sehun speaks up again, taking every opportunity of silence to speak up before the investigator. He tells him that Junmyeon is working too hard and needs to sleep. Junmyeon only stares blankly, and Sehun proves his point further.

 

“I’m not eating until you do and I won’t leave until I know you’ve done so.” Sehun says 

 

“I can’t believe you bought all this and forgot alcohol.”

 

Sehun did forget drinks. Fuck.

 

“Oh… I can-” He’s cut off when Junmyeon shakes his head, muttering  _ “I was teasing”  _ as he takes the disposable sticks from the desk and unwraps them, opening the box. Sehun follows a beat slower just to be safe.

 

It felt comfortable like this. Even if they weren’t close sitting across Junmyeon in a more casual manner felt a lot more easy than having to to face him during business hours. If anything Junymeon looked a lot less intimidating like this. His hair is messy and his voice tired, eyes heavy with exhaustion but still attentive. His features were softer, more rounded, just like he was before…  _ It  _ happened.

 

Sehun owes Jongdae a lot.

  
  


Starting off was hard. It took mere statements and a little back and forth of exchanges before they really engaged in full conversation. Junmyeon had abandoned his work, and was  _ actually  _ eating. Sehun carefully avoided the topic of Baekhyun, avoided the topic of anything work related and just talked about the little things. Junmyeon gave frustratingly short answers that made Sehun almost want to rip his hair out but he appreciated them nonetheless. He was a little caught off guard when the investigator actually spoke up after a few brief moments of silence.

 

“So why are you here?”

 

Sehun chews quietly as he looks at Junmyeon with a puzzled look, “I already told you. You aren’t well so I figured-”

 

“No, why are  _ you  _ here.” 

 

Oh. He takes a breath, Sehun didn’t really plan this out, but he has an answer. A for sure answer that will likely get him thrown through the window of Junmyeon’s office. He contemplates for a few seconds if he should even say it, but when he realizes how much he’s said that’s pushed Junmyeon so far to the edge already, and the fact that Junmyeon has actually kept him around despite such. gives Sehun the impression that it really doesn’t fucking matter.

 

The words he wants to say are right there, confidently perched on the tip of his tongue yet his lips fail to move. 

 

_ Let’s work hard together from now on. _

 

Junmyeon would never. Not with him. 

  
  


“To prove my point.” He says finally, “About being here to stay.”

 

That works better than what he had planned to say. 

 

Junmyeon scoffs, “You really don’t know when to stop do you?”

 

Sehun shrugs, playful smirk tugging on his lips, “Not until I feel like the world isn’t about to be swept out from under my feet.” 

 

Junmyeon breathes a quiet “No kidding.” and for the first time in months, genuinely smiled.

 

Junmyeon learned that Sehun is persistent, annoying, and yet somehow too charming all in one. His responses are smart even though he hardly needs any time to think of one and the longer they sit and eat together the more he begins to realize why Sehun was assigned to him. Then Junmyeon realizes he’s getting close, and cuts their talk short. He thanks Sehun genuinely and cleans up as he leaves. Confused, the younger still follows. 

  
  


Junmyeon feels a little less guilty about leaving so late at night when the streets are still busy with people as he and Sehun leave the office. The air is crisp and chilly, and it feels nice to breathe in after being stuck inside all day, it feels nice against his skin and he walks down the steps with Sehun following a few paces behind. Sehun wishes Junmyeon well and says goodnight as he goes one way and Junmyeon goes another silently.  He has to remind himself over and over on his walk home that even though Oh Sehun has a lot of potential, him being around Junmyeon is just a disaster waiting to happen. Junmyeon realizes he kept his distance for a reason. Sehun doesn’t seem to understand that if he sticks around invests his time into helping Junmyeon with dangerous cases then that will just lead to what happened a month ago all over again. 

 

Junmyeon is just trying to keep Sehun safe, just trying to keep him from having to face what kind of person Junmyeon is deep down. 

  
  
  


He’s reaching the crosswalk about halfway from his apartment when his phone begins furiously buzzing him in his pocket, making him groan and he digs it out only to see an unknown number flash on the screen. He answers it professionally, but almost drops it in the snow when he hears the young male he just left moments ago yelling through the phone like him life depended on it.

 

_ “There was a fight and someone’s hurt and the other guy looks… Fuck, hyung this isn’t right I-” _

 

“Sehun, slow down, where are you?”

 

_ “Uhm, fuck…  Uhm… Chungmuro station? Hyung I don’t know how long I can keep this under control, fuck-” _

 

“Sehun, listen, I’ll be there soon, just keep calm. Don’t cause commotion, that’ll make it worse. Okay?”

 

He waits for a response and gets nothing, “Okay? Sehun?”

 

The line is dead. 

  
Junmyeon swears under his breath as he pockets his phone and turns around to run as fast as he can in the opposite direction towards the station Sehun is at. The poor kid sounded totally on edge and could barely explain himself, but if he can keep things grounded until Junmyeon can get there then they should be okay. 

 

His eyes water from running through the cold and his nose is a little runny by the time he gets there, there’s flashing lights and a crowd of people and Junmyeon can feel his heart racing even faster as he approaches, palms beginning to sweat out of the sudden fear that he maybe he wasn’t fast enough. He whips out his badge, pushes through the crowd of people and down into the station where Sehun stands, gun pointed at a Cambion who has a poor child in his grasp, screaming and crying as her mother stands nearby being held back by officers.

 

He breathes a sigh when Sehun looks back at him, eyes filled with concern as he keeps his gun pointed. He looks at the creature in the corner, eyes glowing bright with vile monstrosity. He eyes it, and he doesn’t break contact. Junmyeon takes a step closer and it hisses, grasp tightening around the child as he does so. He keeps his eyes locked onto the white ones swirling with red pools as he reaches towards his holster, hands just hovering above it. A Cambion would never let anyone get this close while reaching for their gun, never. Conscious or not they understand signs of danger and this happens to be one of them for it stand still and wait has Junmyeon feeling more nervous about the situation. 

 

He can’t let it hurt that child, he can’t.

 

Seeing the way it’s cornered almost reminds him of the events that fail to fade from his memory. He’s seen this before and the way he’s standing now, the way he’s hesitating, this is what lead to Yifan’s death. The people yelling, the child screaming, Sehun’s fear emitting has Junmyeon’s senses completely overwhelmed and he can’t seem to focus. He keeps his eyes locked but his breath hitches as he does so and all the sounds, all the things he’s feeling suddenly feel far more intense, like someone is crashing cymbals right next to his head. 

  
  


A shot rings, it hits the tile of the wall causing shards and dust to fly about and the devil jumps, a cry rings and Junmyeon finds himself moving faster than he realizes, taking the opportunity to seize the small girl from the demon’s grip as it growls and claws out after Junmyeon, who feels a sudden spit of pain on his arm and he rushes towards the officers, dropping the child just before them as he turns back to see Sehun face down on the ground, demon hovering right above him. 

 

He kicks, takes the free seconds to retrieve his gun then shoots a clean shot to the head, it shrieks but jumps up, bright shards of red flare out from the palm of its hand just barely scraping past Junmyeon and into the tile wall behind him. 

 

So that’s what got his arm.

 

A shot to the head should have taken it out, so why is this one still up?

  
  


He shoots again, this time to the chest, more shards. He’s up against the wall this time, demon slowly stalking towards him.

 

Another shot, and it falls in front of him, squirming and moaning in pain until it goes still. Junmyeon takes a shaky breath as he slides down the wall, gun falling to his side as he tries to take in whatever the fuck just happened and then he sees the mop of black hair on the floor and his heart skips a few beats again or the upteenth time that night. 

 

He rushes over to him and turns him on his back, there’s a small cut across his cheek, his lip busted, the white button up under his jacket is dusty and stained with splatters of red. He shakes the male, repeating his name over and over, tapping the side of his face with his hand to try and wake him, but no response. 

 

Junmyeon mutters a swear under his breath as he opens the younger’s jacket to see one small patch of red grow in size and his jaw clenches, he yells out for an ambulance, and immediately puts pressure over the wound on Sehun’s chest. He hears footsteps behind him and his whole world falls apart all over again,

 

Kim Junmyeon is a recipe for disaster. 

  
  
  
  


 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you want updates on my writing or anything else I'm on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/versolshua) (like, a lot) and if there's anything you want to ask me I have a [Tumblr](https://tumblr.versolshua.com) too


	6. Same Shit, Different Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay I just started my new job so rip life and when I tried updating his yesterday archive was down how nice 
> 
> Anyways, I wanted to let you know that I’ve decided to run a new schedule sort of thing. With my schedule becoming increasingly hectic I’m really squeezing in time to write, so that being said, I’ll update on this story and Insidious Retribution once a month. (Two updates, one on each story). It gives me more time to write, allows for longer, more organized chapters, and makes me feel less pressured on having to update constantly, I really hope you all understand <3 enjoy

**Chapter 6**

 

  
“Anything else for you all?” Baekhyun is placing another round of pricey wine on the table of the scarily large party of rich corporate workers on the table. He tucks his tray under his arm and dips his head as they thank him and he’s back running to other tables. Fridays are always busy. The restaurant is packed with higher-ups from the city who order fine wine and tiny portions of over-priced food, he has no idea how someone like him managed to get a job here, but he doesn’t complain. It pays too well.  
The staff is nice too, so he can’t complain about that either.

The only people that really make him want to break his serving tray over his knee are the ones like the man at table 18 that keeps eyeing him everytime he walks past. He’s the very demanding ‘give it to me now’ kind of person that everyone of them hate, and he feels his eyes burning into him everytime he passes the table. He repeats it over and over in his mind to not think about it, he doesn’t want anything, it’s fine but when he calls for him his thoughts burn away and he puts on the fakest smile he can while turning and asking if everything is okay.

The people that come in typically like Baekhyun. He likes to talk, he likes to get to know the people he’s serving, and he likes to joke around and keep things light. But when people like this are here, he wants to sink into the floor and rethink every life decision he’s ever made.

“Fine. I just can’t help but to notice those… Lines on your neck, young man. They’re quite distracting.”

He has to stop himself from swearing out loud because he has no idea how he’s supposed to come up with an answer for that. Technically, he doesn’t have to, he has the right not to tell them, so he doesn’t.  
“Oh? I’m sorry, I tried to cover them but I-”

“Aren’t those caused when Cambions use their powers?”

No, he wants to say, but yes, if he’s speaking theoretically. Yes, red lines show up after they use too much of a power at once but no because he has no idea if that’s what he is.

So no, was his final answer to the man who looks at him skeptically as he dusts his hands on the cloth napkin and throws it on the table. “I’d like another table. If I’m being served by a demon I don’t want service.”

Baekhyun tries to stumble on an answer that’s reasonable but he can’t seem to fall on anything that will satisfy the man. “Sir, we’re full right now I can’t-”

“What do you mean you can’t?” He snaps, “There’s tables right over there. Can’t you give us one of those?” He points to a small table nearby and Baekhyun shakes his head.

“They’re reserved-”

“Well no one is there right now, right?”

If this guy cuts him off one more time, Baekhyun won’t be snapping this tray over his own knee, it’ll be this guys head.

“They will be. Sir I can assure you this isn’t what it looks like-”

“Then what is it?”

He’s quiet, eyes falling to the floor. Changing the subject won’t work, it hasn’t so far.

“Exactly. Either get me a new table or a new server or I’m leaving.”

Baekhyun would gladly show him the door, but now that he’s starting to attract attention from the other customers, the only thing he can do is try and cooperate with the guy. The markings aren’t even that visible anyways, besides, Baekhyun hasn’t even done anything wrong. This guy is just crying over nothing. Baekhyun doesn’t have an excuse, not if the guy already has the same fact, there is no point in putting a fight. He bows, telling him he’ll see what he can do as he rushes to the back. He gets that being served by Cambions is kind of pretty unsettling, but it’s not like anyone could tell at first glance. He’s probably been served by a hundred, but he’s never noticed.

He manages to pull Taeyeon off to the side and tells her what happened, she looks around, waiters and waitresses are moving in and out of the kitchen, the chefs are calling orders and Baekhyun knows that there’s absolutely nothing she can do. Instead they walk out to the mans table together, she listens as he accuses Baekhyun of being dangerous, how he doesn’t feel safe in an establishment that employs ‘monsters’ and he just keeps going.  
Taeyeon smiles and nods through the whole thing, an obvious show, Baekhyun has worked with her long enough to know. When he’s done after what feels like hours, Taeyeon simply tells him there’s nothing they can do seeing as they’re too busy and if he doesn’t like it, she’ll refund his entire meal.

Of course, he isn’t satisfied and embarasses Baekhyun further by throwing his glass of ice water on him as he leaves, saying Baekhyun and ‘his kind’ are an abomination and should be ‘exterminated, and saying Taeyeon is a ‘sucker for the bastards’. She asks, if he’s okay, he nods, and so the rest of the night resumes.  
The whole night doesn’t get any easier, he remains feeling incredibly self-conscious about the lines on his skin and feels like everyone can see them no matter what he does to hide them. He feels anxious the later the night goes on and the people just keep coming. Though no one seems to notice, or ask, he still can’t help but to feel like the eyes of everyone in the room are focused directly on him.

His feet hurt from running around, his wrist feels like it will fall off, his clothes are uncomfortably wet and sticky, and he’s pretty sure he smells awful from the stuffiness of the room, but he can’t tell. It’s not until he’s changed, with wet clothes in his bag and headphones in that he’s stopped by Taeyeon who asks if he’s okay again, which he assures her that it’s fine. Her face falls then and she looks almost hesitant when she parts her mouth to speak,  
“Baekhyun, you know how much I love you here. But after everything that’s happened to you, and what happened tonight, I think it’s best to give you some time off.”

Don’t say it, please for the love of everything don’t say the next word.

“Permanently.”

Baekhyun has been working here for over two years, she can’t just let him go. Baekhyun has been through a lot worse and still managed to keep his position, she wouldn’t let him go this easy. He’s in a lot more shock than he thinks, he stands there with a dumbfounded look on his face as he stares at Taeyeon, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Baekhyun, I’m worried about you. After what happened tonight I don’t want to risk this happening again.”

“I- okay. Okay.” His throat is closed up, he can’t say anything. He thanks her, they hug, and he’s wrapping himself up in a thick scarf as he leaves. He doesn’t know if it was the cold, bitter wind or himself but his eyes started watering as he walked towards the bus stop. Chanyeol is going to be pissed, no doubt. Poor guy already has enough on his shoulders, Baekhyun is just adding more, a burden.

  
His hands remain stuffed as deep into the pockets of his jacket as they can go, and he’s surprised when he checks his phone after stepping onto the bus.

**Kyungsoo (I think):**

_I’m not sure if I should be flattered that you got my number or not because you walked out on us._

_> also, you’re welcome_

_> also, we were just trying to help you. I’m sorry we scared you more._

Baekhyun stares at the screen, his mind is so fried he can hardly think of an answer and starts typing blindly.

**To  
Kyungsoo (I think):**

_i have a lot on my mind and chanyeol said you could help_

_> i don’t know what the fuck is wrong with me but if someone could help I’d be grateful._

He sits back in his seat, sighing as his head rolls to the side, staring at the passing buildings. It’s far too late, the streets are silent and barren minus a few passing cars. He should’ve been home hours ago.

Chanyeol more or less forced Baekhyun to stay with him. Something about how going back home is too dangerous and he’d be an idiot for even trying and break starts soon anyways so it’s fine and so and so on. Baekhyun was listening halfway, the other half of him was thinking how the hell he's ever going to pay Chanyeol back for this. He just lost his only source of income, his face plastered on every screen across the city, he can’t go back to his own apartment and his mom is going to rip him apart when he tells her about everything. And yet Chanyeol still smiles and laughs and jokes with him and tells him he’ll be okay. It’ll all blow over.

But Chanyeol didn’t murder someone on accident. Chanyeol doesn’t toss and turn in the middle of the night reliving that same night over and over. Chanyeol doesn’t hear the screams he did when he did whatever the fuck it was that he did. Chanyeol doesn’t live with that burden.

  
**From**  
**Kyungsoo (I think):**

_> chanyeol as in park chanyeol?_

_Yeah <_

_> interesting… I can meet you in the university library tomorrow a little after noon?_

_Yeah <_

_> ….are you alright?_

  
Baekhyun doesn’t even reply. He pockets his phone, gets his stuff, and gets off. He tries to put together how he’s going to spill all of this to Chanyeol, but none of it makes sense in his head. No matter how many times he puts it together, none of it makes sense.

He unlocks the door, peeks in, and to his dismay, the lights are still on. Which means he still has to face Chanyeol. Which he isn’t looking forward to.

He slips his shoes off, shrugs his backpack off, followed by his scarf and jacket. The living room is silent, but a lamp is still on. He has a pretty good feeling where Chanyeol is, he knocks a couple times, opens the door and almost chokes when he sees Jongdae sitting on Chanyeol’s bed, notebook in his lap as Chanyeol smiles at him from his desk.

Baekhyun waves to Jongdae, who smiles and greets him. Maybe he shouldn’t tell him. He might end up ruining their session together. They look busy, he shouldn’t waste their time. Baekhyun tries to slip out, apologizing quietly but they’re asking him to come in, stay a minute, and so he does. He takes a seat next to Jongdae, being careful not to get too close,

“Listen to what we’ve got so far, I think you’ll like it.” Chanyeol says, playing the track that he and Jongdae somehow put together since he’s been gone and to no surprise it was incredible. Chanyeol always puts together good pieces, Baekhyun would know, he’s always the first to listen to them. Jongdae had mentioned he wrote it, and Baekhyun was impressed. They work well together, to have an acoustic song done in just a few hours means they really put some work into this, Baekhyun is impressed. For just a few minutes he was able to forget about everything that’s happened and just sit back and listen.

Then it was over. Baekhyun was forced to return to his sick reality.

  
“It was good. You guys are really good.” He smiles, standing up from the bed and walking towards the door, “It was a rough night so… I’m off.”  
“So soon?”

Baekhyun gives Chanyeol the most pitiful look he can as he opens the door, he says goodnight, and makes his way to his sad place on the couch. He keeps forgetting he isn’t home. He can’t go out. He can’t do anything. He’s failed. He’s fucked.

Baekhyun pulls at the strings of his hoodie so his hood encloses over most of his face. If only he could just hide forever. Dig a hole and bury himself, never to be seen again, never to be talked about, never again forced to think that he’s not human. Not real, only merely part of this world. Half made of black water, half made of red. Half a beating heart and half a corrupted mind, half of someone, half of something.

Baekhyun never thought that his stupid, good for nothing life would spiral into nothing. Jobless, brainless, a little less of who he was everyday. He doesn’t understand anything that’s going on. He lives every day in a series of passing. Like riding a train, or a bus, everything moving by in such a blur that he can only focus in on one thing at a time but only for a split second and then things are moving too fast again.

He hums the tune to Chanyeol and Jongdae’s song as he pulls out notebooks and textbooks from his backpack. If anything will distract him right now, it’s studying. Finals start next week. He needs to meet Kyungsoo tomorrow if detectives aren’t swarming campus. He needs to leave as soon as he can.

  
He hears Jongdae leave.

 

 

✧ ✦ ✧

 

 

  
Sehun wakes up in the hospital sometime in the middle of the night drenched in sweat, clutching the sheets of his hospital bed until his knuckles are white as he catches his breath trying to get a grip on his surroundings. He thought he was dead, but the overwhelming pain in his side and head says otherwise.

He swallows dryly, there’s shuffling off to the side of his bed, and when he looks down his heart nearly breaks in his chest.  
“D-Detective?” His voice cracks a little from how dry his throat is, the detective is slumped over in a cheap plastic chair next to his bed, he was asleep. Was he… Waiting for Sehun to wake up?

“Hm,” He mumbles stirring around, sleep very evident in his voice, and he’s suddenly sitting up in a flash. “Sehun? You’re awake?”

  
“Yeah… Why wouldn’t I be?” Sehun watches as the investigator sits up straight, straightening his muscles out and adjusting the chair closer to the bed, Junmyeon shrugs, falling back into the plastic of the chair. He still has that same tired, sullen look on his face as he always does. Expressionless and not a single hint that he’s probably scared to death. His bicep is bandaged, indicating the only sign of injury he sustained.  
“It looked pretty nasty… Maybe I was exaggerating.”

Sehun hums, eyes falling back onto the sheets again. He has a million things he wants to say but no idea where to start. Things were easy when he did this yesterday, or, maybe yesterday. He doesn’t even know what time it is, doesn’t have a clue how long he’s been out.

There’s a few wrappers and a crumpled can of juice on the bedside table, so he must have been here a while.

“Did I scare you, Hyung?” He finds himself asking without a second thought. He remembers what happened. Up until the end. Whenever he got hit by a backfired shard of whatever that thing was spewing.

“Of course.” He responds flatly. It takes Sehun a little by surprise, he almost wishes he could have seen it. Seeing Junmyeon portray another feeling other then anger or sadness that’s repressed so far inside that it can only be expressed as nothing must have certainly been interesting. Then again, he thinks that maybe he scared Junmyeon in a way that was probably a little unsettling. Considering the amount of close people that have died right in front of him in the past few weeks must be traumatizing.

“I’m sorry.” Sehun starts, adjusting himself slowly, not to cause any pain, “I could have handled it but… That wasn’t… It wasn’t normal. You know?”

Junmyeon sits up, looks at him in a different way than the younger had expected. His features were soft, outlined by the fatigue and filled with a concern Sehun has never seen before. He expected Junmyeon to look at him like he was crazy, call Sehun crazy, say he was too nervous in the moment to focus so he made things up, he expected for Junmyeon to say the things he was always told growing up.

“Not normal in… What way?” Junmyeon is oddly vulnerable tonight, his expressions are easier to read than they ever have been, Sehun suspects it’s from him being so tired, but he doesn’t say anything. This is another step, he thinks.

He shifts uncomfortable, sighs,  
“I mean… They don’t act like that. I’ve seen how they act, Hyung. I know what it looks like, you know what it looks like. You can’t say that was normal behavior. One shot was supposed to kill it right? So why did it take three? Why did-”  
Junmyeon cuts Sehun off before he starts rambling, raising both hands defensively.  
“Okay, I know, calm down, I- Wait, were you awake through all that?”

There’s a pause between them. The only sound is the rhythmic beeping of the EKG machine to Sehun’s side. His eyes fall away from Junymeon’s nervously, unsure if he should tell him that yeah, he was barely awake, and yeah, he kinda saved Junmyeon’s life. He can feel the investigator’s eyes tearing him apart and finally gives in under the pressure.  
“I shot the final shot before it could get to you. But that’s beside the point my point is-”

“I know your point, Sehun. That’s why I’ll look into it.”

There he goes again. Typical Kim Junmyeon to completely discredit Sehun and his abilities and offer to handle things on his own as if Sehun didn’t just try to win him over a few fucking hours ago. He did not work this hard and vow to risk his life for this shit. Junmyeon has gotten away with it long enough.  
“Why is it always about you?” He snaps, “You said status dominates character yet here you are making things harder on yourself. It’s always ‘I’ll do this’ or ‘I’ll do that’. Why not us? What the fuck are you so scared of, Junmyeon? Do you think I’ll end up like-”

“Sehun, please. Not now.” Junmyeon’s head falls into his hands, Sehun knows he should stop, that now is definitely not the time to be putting either of them through more stress, but he knows that when he’s not jacked up on pain medication and too tired to filter his words (and honorifics) that he won’t take the chance to speak up the next time.

He still keeps his eyes focused on Junmyeon even though the older isn’t even looking at him anymore. “No, I’m sick of this distancing shit. Leaving me out like I don’t fucking matter, never giving me a chance. What is it about me that you can’t stand? Why do you despise me?”

“That’s not it-” Junmyeon mumbles.

“Then what is it?” Sehun’s voice falls significantly softer as silence settles in again. It’s heavy this time. Sehun is surprised he hasn’t woken anyone up from how loud he’s been talking. Maybe he said too much, let his feelings get the best of him and didn’t bother considering how what he said may affect Junmyeon in some way. Junmyeon is eerily silent, body stiff and breath silent, Sehun knows he said too much. Yet he sits quietly, doesn’t say another word, he just stares at Junmyeon like he’ll get an answer. Sehun should be apologizing, saying he’s sorry, he went to far, was too rash, something, anything and yet he’s silent, expecting something from Junmyeon instead.

Sehun is tempted, for some reason, to reach out towards Junmyeon. Peel the mans hands from his face and see who’s really under there, see what sad, tired human is under there, but he keeps his hands threaded into the sheets. Sehun waits like a snake waiting for courage the size of a of a mouse to speak up but his name is called and when he forces his eyes to move away, there stands Jongdae.  
Junmyeon takes his chance, rises up, grabs his jacket and bag in a hurry, and has his back turned on both of them without a word. Sehun didn’t even get a chance to see his face, but there’s no doubt it was pained. He struck something in Junmyeon and whatever it was is sure enough to get him booted from his position as Junmyeon’s partner.

Jongdae looks from the door to Sehun in confusion as he makes his way over to take Junmyeon’s previous seat next to the bed. He shifts around a little, “He must have been here a while. Seats all warm.”

“Anyways,” He chirps, “I figured I’d come back and see if you were awake, I guess I… Had bad timing. Sorry.”

Sehun breaths a chuckle, shaking his head, “You’re fine, Hyung. If anything you had perfect timing.”

“Do I wanna know?”

Sehun shakes his head, “Same shit different day.”

Jongdae ends up staying the night. Sleepless, unlike his friend who is knocked out for the remainder of the night. Jongdae writes. Nothing particularly special, but it was enough to start something. Jongdae was a little flustered when Baekhyun came in before he left. Not that he wasn’t expecting it, but in a way he felt a little bad. He almost felt like he was getting in the way, intruding on something which was why he left so quickly. He felt like he overstayed his welcome. He wanted to get close to Baekhyun, he had no problem voicing that to Chanyeol, yet when Baekhyun came home his whole mind went astray, he could tell something was wrong and was gone before he could think anything else.

**Chanyeollie:**

_> Jongdaeeee is everything okay?_

He didn’t tell Chanyeol about Sehun. He forgot to mostly because he was too freaked out about the whole thing that he became rendered speechless.

_< Yeah, Sehun got a little scratched up on the job today. I’m at the hospital with him._

Then the phone starts ringing. It takes Jongdae by surprise a little bit, usually people never call him, even in bad situations.

He hesitates a little when he accepts the call,

“Hello?”

_“Jongdae, Baekhyunnie and I are on our way over. Is… Is he okay?”_

“He’s fine. He’s getting discharged tomorrow. He’s asleep right now anyways, you guys should stay back. We can drop by tomorrow.”

  
_“Are… Are you sure? Do you guys need anything? At all?”_

“We’re fine, Chanyeol. But thank you.” He finds himself smiling at the offer, Chanyeol is one of those rare people that you meet once in a lifetime. So nice you begin to wonder if they’re really just that naturally kind or if it’s something else. When he hangs up the phone he finds himself a little less restless than he was before.

 

When he wakes up, Sehun is getting dressed in the clothes Jongdae brought over last night, they sign out quickly, and, like he promised, they stop by Chanyeol’s. Sehun seemed a little reluctant in telling them what happened, but does so anyways. Chanyeol is all over him, lifting his arm up to look for any scrapes, and all but gapes when Sehun shows him the damage on his chest.

Then Sehun brings up Baekhyun, asking where he is, followed by asking how he’s doing.

  
Awful, everything couldn’t be worse. Baekhyun was supposed to meet Kyungsoo today, apologize and go over his little mental list of things he was going to say but slept in and is running for his life, hoping that he’s stuck around. Way to make a first impression, he thinks. Chanyeol living a little further from the school added about 10 extra minutes onto the commute. He let Kyungsoo know he was running late, but the fact that he didn’t get a reply really sends his nerves on edge.

The snow and ice doesn’t help either, Baekhyun looks like a maniac running through the campus on a saturday afternoon, wearing a light jacket and his stupid wool scarf when it’s below freezing. Kyungsoo couldn’t have picked a more awful place, but then again, Baekhyun isn’t even supposed to show his face outside (hence the giant red scarf).

It’s more packed than he expected, students lining the tables with headphones in, studying away for finals next week. He should have brought his stuff with him, he’s behind.

His phone has yet to go off, there isn’t a single place to sit, when it’s packed, it’s packed. He suddenly feels a little awkward as he fumbles with his scarf and begins pacing through the isles. His mind automatically begins assuming that Kyungsoo has left, given up on waiting for Baekhyun and walked out, leaving Baekhyun out of breath and out of place as his fingers trace along the spines of books that he looks at but doesn’t read.

Then his phone vibrates.

**Kyungsoo (I think):**

_> I’m on the second level._

_> By the way, that’s an awful scarf._

Baekhyun exhales a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding as he hurries up to the second leven and finds Kyungsoo at a small table by the railing that looks down onto the ground floor. Baekhyun silently takes a seat, watches as Kyungsoo slips his laptop and a single notebook inside his bag. He must be here to study too. Baekhyun can’t help but to watch how all of his things are more or less the same. He has one single black pen the sits to the side of his one single notebook, notes neatly organized, his phone it out of sight, he’s basically the opposite of Baekhyun, who has an obnoxiously bright colored notebook for each subject, brightly colored gel pens, and spends more time looking for his phone through his pile of notes than he does actually studying.

“Something wrong?”

Baekhyun turns his eyes away from a now empty table to Kyungsoo. He shakes his head, “You’re just… You’re really organized.”

Kyungsoo thanks him and then a silence falls over the two of them. Baekhyun knows what he has to do but when he opens his mouth to say it a flood of ten million other questions begin to fall forward and he doesn’t know what to say.

“A lot on your mind huh?”

Baekhyun nods, so does Kyungsoo, “I was going to try and explain when you were over but I didn’t want to lay stuff down on you all at once. You’re stronger than you look.”

Baekhyun’s brow furrows, he doesn’t remember a whole lot from that day, too much has happened since then and Kyungsoo can tell.

  
“We had to put you down twice, every time you woke up you’d start screaming and yelling and kicking. I was pretty freaked out, honestly.” He leans forward, arms pressed on the table, Baekhyun can’t seem to bring himself to look at him straight in the eyes.

“Did I knock the lights out?” He asks, falling away from Kyungsoo’s and to the towering bookshelf on the ground floor, eyes all the different colors and sizes as he waits for an answer.

“Yeah, every single one in the apartment blew out.” There’s a pause, Baekhyun’s eyes flicker to Kyungsoo’s for a second before they’re back on their place on the bookshelf again.

“You have no clue do you?”

  
“Hm?” Baekhyun’s eyes are back on Kyungsoo’s again, his hands tighten in the threads of his scarf, he can’t not think about it. The possibility is always on his mind and he’s really hoping that the other male isn’t about to say what he thinks he’s about to say.

Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything, he rolls his eyes and digs into his bag and pulls out…

_Cambions: A Study on Behavior and Mannerisms_

Then he sees the author is surprisingly a name he recognizes:

 _Zhang Yixing_. He’s a Chinese journalist who is a demi-demon himself, quite popular and mostly well recognized for his unbiased opinions in his work, not to forget his incredibly well observed studies on species. Baekhyun has never read any of his material, but if there’s anywhere to start, Zhang Yixing seems like the one to start with.

“Read this over break and text me when you’ve finished it. I can sense you’re in denial about us. You’ll be surprised to hear that we aren’t what Kim Junmyeon makes us out to be.” Kyungsoo stands up, throws his bag over his shoulder. He’s dressed like a tired college student, black joggers, black tennis shoes, black hoodie, black baseball cap. He’s simple in just about every aspect.

“Also, do us a favor or two and keep your damn face off the television. I don’t give a shit what you try and say, but I know what you are, and subconsciously so do you.”

Then he’s gone. He turns around, and walks away like it was nothing.

Baekhyun really went to all that work for five minute conversation and a book.

He ran all the way here, when they both know he’s wanted, to get a two hundred page book, and shit on by someone he barely knows.

Everything is awful. This is awful. Baekhyun starts reading his book on the way home (home now being Chanyeol’s), he slaves over his books until his eyes start burning, and when he opens his eyes it’s Monday. It’s time for finals.

Baekhyun wants to make this week at least count. Despite his entire life being absolute garbage at the moment, getting finals over with will at least lessen the some weight on his shoulders. It won’t be much, but it’ll be one less thing to worry about. He’s managed to make a routine for himself out of the many sleepless nights he’s been having on Chanyeol’s couch. When he wakes up in a cold sweat and out of breath, he collects his thoughts, tells himself he’s okay, and turns on the lamp behind him and studies until he’s as tired as he was when he went to sleep the first time. The next night, he does it all over again.

Now Baekhyun sits in his first class of the day with an energy drink in hand while the other students make their way in and take their seats. Today was just the beginning of a very long week, but if he can make it through, he’ll have the test anxiety out of the way, he’ll get his final paycheck, he can pay off his rent, and get the hell outta dodge.

The professor speaks, the tests are handed out, Baekhyun is practically vibrating with caffeine, and when the timer starts on the screen all he can do stare. His head hurts, his ears are ringing unmercifully, and he tries to block it out by scribbling his name down with his pen. There’s a pen at the end of his row, click click, click click, click click, his leg is bouncing furiously, his palms are becoming clammy, his grip in his scarf tightens, he hears the guy in front of him at the bottom of the floor breathing, he smells the perfume from the girl behind him, he hears the nervous scraping of a fingernail against the edge of a paper, he hears someone else scratching their head he-

“Time is up, please put your pens down and turn in your exams at the front on your way out.”

Baekhyun stares while the other students stand and make their way down the isles. This can’t be happening. There’s no way. He didn’t space out for that long, did he? He flips through the packet with his breath caught in his throat.

All the answers are filled, most likely wrong. The paper is almost torn through on every page from the amount of pressure he applied in the answer spaces using his pen. He doesn’t even remember filling anything in. Is this how all the tests are going to be? What was the point in studying of he was just going to space out the entire time and not remember filling in even a single answer. He wrote his name. It’s even scribbled at the top; Byun Baekhyun.

He gets to the back of the test, the written portion and his heart stops, a chill falls over his whole body. It’s just scribbles. The entire page is just scribbles. He stands up, grabs his bag, and turns his test in before he can so much as think about it anymore than he wants to.

  
By the time his next test comes around he’s able to make it a whole five pages in before the sound of a nervous leg bouncing with the fabric of jeans rubbing against a backpack plows through Baekhyun’s concentration like a bulldozer. It’s all he hears and by the time he knows it, his time is up and he’s out the door.

 

This week couldn’t end any faster. Childish as it may sound, he’s never been more excited to go home.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know when I’m writing and be the first to hear about updates (and cry over ksoo and joshua), I’m always active on Twitter come say hi (and send me memes)
> 
> See you soon!


	7. The Floodgates Open

**Chapter 8**   
  
  
  
  


 

 

 

“So she fired you? Just like that?”

 

“Just like that.”

 

Baekhyun watches as his mother moves back and forth around the kitchen preparing dinner. He told his mother everything, more detailed than over phone, but still leaving out the chunks of the lights and the dead investigator and the things the man said to him at the restaurant the night he was let go.

 

But not for very long, Baekhyun knows he has to tell her, has to get answers, has to know something and his mother is the only person who can tell him that. She pries. 

 

“Baek, she had to have a reason, you’ve always been so good about keeping your place there. Not to mention they all loved you.” 

 

He sighs, staring blankly into the cup of tea he has yet to touch. He hears his mother cutting away at vegetables, and he mutters, “Saw markings.”

 

“She what?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

She stops, looks at him with a knife in hand, eyes narrowed in irritation. If he lies any longer she might just stab him. His tongue suddenly feels like a bag of stones, weighed down and he can’t speak, only stare. He trusts her, he knows she’ll listen, he knows he’ll get his ass handed to him in the end, but he knows he needs this. He licks his lips, swallows dryly and opens his mouth as if he were to speak but sits silently, breath falling out softly between his parted lips. He doesn’t know where his words went. He doesn’t know if it’s because he is truly afraid of the consequences or if he’s afraid her reaction will be the same as everyone else. A blank stare and trying to show sympathy without really understanding. 

 

She turns back around, as if to say “suit yourself” and silence falls over the room again, the only sounds are the knife against the cutting board and vegetables cooking in a pan. He needs to bring it up somehow, find a way to lead into it but that’s impossible. He can’t just straight up tell his mother that he  _ killed  _ someone. Took their life in a second without knowing how he did, or barely even  _ remembering  _ that he did. 

 

“You know his anniversary is soon.”

 

His mother breaks the silence with soft words that hit Baekhyun with a punch right to his heart. His father’s death anniversary is a week away. He’s been so absorbed in himself he didn’t even remember. Which is strange, he always remembers, it’s not like either of them could forget that his father died on Christmas after getting into a hit and run by a reckless driver on his way home. Baekhyun has always celebrated Christmas as his anniversary rather than an actual holiday since then and uses the day more as a reason to stay to himself and think about his life than be thankful for the things he was given. He tries to keep a happy mood, it’s what his father would have wanted him to do, but it’s hard when so many people celebrate the day for the ones who are there next to them. Baekhyun doesn’t have that anymore. 

  
  


He nods softly to himself, he wonders what it would be like if his father were still here. Maybe he’d really be able to get answers and ask the question he put on the backburner from the moment all this started.  

 

“Was dad a Cambion?”

 

So it slips. It slips and take the both of them by surprise. His mother drops the knife she was holding on the floor and it lands with a rattle that rings above the simmering food on the stove. Baekhyun wishes he could have bitten his tongue a little harder. It’s still quiet, he didn’t mean to ask it, it was just a thought that slipped out on accident. 

 

“Was he what?”

 

Baekhyun hesitates. He shouldn’t do this to her when he just got back. In fact, he was planning on waiting a little longer before he even brought any of this up. But, her being his mother, she had to know everything down to the details. 

“Was he a Cambion or not?” He huffs.

 

“Why would you ask that?” She keeps her back turned to him, but her tone has taken a turn. Baekhyun looks at her from the table, he put himself into this, he can’t change the subject, he has no choice but to weave his way through this conversation and make it as painless for the both of them as he can. 

 

He needs to know. There’s no other explanation for the things he’s been experiencing unless his father was one of them. He doesn’t like the idea of it as much as he does bringing it up but its been nagging at his thoughts like a parasite for weeks and he can’t let it go. He came here for answers, and he needs to hear them out whether he likes them or not. 

 

Baekhyun takes a breath, and tugs at his lip out of sudden nerves. He doesn’t know how to phrase it. How to bring it up without picturing his mother looking at him with flames of disappointment and telling him to get out, she doesn’t want a monster in her home, in her life, as her son. 

 

“The night I got mugged,” Baekhyun starts quietly, “The guy who was on me, he-I don’t know what happened but I lost myself. I kind of felt like my head was in a different place, my whole body was on fire, I didn’t understand what was happening and… There was light.”

 

He swallows, dry again, he can’t really seem to get a grip now that his emotions have taken that best of him, “It was really bright light, blinding, loud. It shut down the power in almost all of Mapu and… I don’t know mom. When he looked at me… He looked terrified. Like he was facing the point of a gun or… A monster.” His voice falls softer than he’d like. He meant to sound more angry about this but thinking about it sends him in under a monsoon of negative emotions. 

 

“I… I just stared at him. I didn’t feel anything. I felt numb, my whole body felt like it was ripped from the skin and I just looked at this guy who was scared for his life and watched…I watched him as he ran. I just… I fucking  _ watched _ , mom, I don’t  _ watch  _ people when they’re scared, I don’t… It hurt. It was bright, and it happened a few nights later and a guy fell. He just fell right over. The bastard hit the ground and didn’t fucking move, he just laid there and I watched,  _ again _ .”  

Can you believe that? The light, mom, it’s that  _ light _ , and these markings on my neck that got me fired, and my attention to detail and I can’t… I can’t fuking take it I feel like a marionette or some shit, this isn’t me. I don’t understand what I am, mom, what… What the hell is wrong with me? Why-”

 

His chest is closing in again. He feels it, he feels his breath suddenly turn to dust and lodge his throat closed, his lips tremble, he feels his eyes burn. He wants to believe that he’s blowing this out of proportion, it’s okay, but it isn’t. Killing someone isn’t okay, hiding away in your bestfriends shoebox sized apartment when you’re a wanted criminal isn’t okay, disregarding someone’s hospitality and advice isn’t okay, being Baekhyun isn’t okay.

 

Baekhyun can’t get a grip on reality anymore. His whole life is being picked away by this stupid fucking light and he wants to believe it but he can’t.

 

_ “I know what you are, and subconsciously so do you.” _

 

Kyungsoo is right. He’s been trying to tell Baekhyun the whole time, he’s been trying to tell him and Baekhyun doesn’t want to listen because he’s been lead to believe that he’s dangerous. A monster among society, an outcast who has no right to step foot outside their door, has no right to lead a successful life and have dreams and aspirations, want to start a family and live peacefully. He was brainwashed into thinking he’s a killer, heartless, deserving of every ounce of hate and pain that comes his way. 

 

Kyungsoo is right. 

 

“He was- your father, he was a Cambion. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to feel ashamed of something you couldn’t control.” There was a long pause, Baekhyun didn’t have the heart to reply, and after what felt like hours of pensive silence she took a breath and spoke up again. 

“Your father didn’t die in a car crash, Baekhyun. He was shot down by some investigators at a train station. I didn’t want you to feel afraid or lead you on so I lied in order to protect you.”

 

“You taught me to hate my own kind the process,” Baekhyun mutters, “Do realize what I’ve done? I  _ killed  _ an investigator, got fired from my job, I’m a wanted criminal. I can’t go outside now all because you wanted to protect me?” His voice rings out loudly among the room, “What were you protecting me from? You knew this going to show whether you wanted it or not and now look what it got you.”

 

His mother’s back is still turned to him, she doesn’t want to face him and half of him doesn’t want her to. Baekhyun doesn’t want anyone to look at him ever again after the things he’s done.

 

“I didn’t want you to feel like a monster-”

 

“What’s the point when I already am one?”

 

A pause, “You know that’s not what I meant.”

 

It’s quiet again. She doesn’t get it. Baekhyun sits quietly, floating among the tension, letting it sink in. He was lied to his entire life and what cost? His father was killed by investigators, and his mother brainwashed him into thinking he was human and he’d be okay, that Cambions were awful beings and he’d never have to experience their evil doings. He grew up thinking he was okay. He lived hating his own blood his entire life not even knowing that the things he was saying about others he was also saying to himself. 

Baekhyun is a hypocrite and the more he sits and thinks about it, the more he feels himself fall deeper below the surface. He knows what he is now. He can’t deny it any further. No more mundane excuses, this is who he is. Who he has always been. 

 

The more it starts to settle the more anxious he becomes. He has nowhere to go, he can’t stay here or with Chanyeol, he’ll just put them in danger. Kyungsoo is probably out of the question too and he can’t just find a new place because he doesn’t have a job anymore and probably won’t for a while now.

He has no idea how to control this and what more he’s even capable of and that alone terrifies him.

 

Baekhyun leaves the room without saying another word. He feels like some kind of caged animal, pacing in its cage in a dark room. Anxiously pacing, scared of its mind, holding onto the hope that there’s some kind of freedom on the other side and instead he gets thrown into a ring of beasts. He can’t feel anything anymore. 

 

He looks at his phone, he doesn’t know why he brought it, the CRI will probably track it and find him soon enough but he figures it’s worth a try anyways. 

 

**To**

**Kyungsoo (I think):**

 

> _ You were right. I was blind. Is that what you wanted to hear? _

 

_                                                                                                   I told you only to text me when you finished that book  _ <

 

_                                                                                   But even though I’d prefer you say that in person, this works too  _ <

  
  
  
  


_ It’s dark again. Baekhyun is growing to hate the darkness more and more. It seems like everytime his life falls apart it’s always when he’s in the dark.  _

 

_ It’s empty. A void of nothing and he can’t even tell if he’s standing on stable ground or plummeting into nothing. He can’t tell where the walls are, if there are even walls but he can feel something closing in on him. Maybe his own body, maybe his thoughts, he doesn’t know what it is he feels but he can feel it coming on closer, slowly easing the pressure down on his chest, he feels the weight grow slightly more with the passing minutes, hours.  _

 

_ Baekhyun has always hated silence. He can’t stand it. He always needs some sort of noise, some kind of background to make him feel sane and the silence he’s in is far too heavy for his liking. It makes him feel like he’s boxed inside a soundproof room. Ears ringing from how loud the silence is, head feeling like it’s full of sand. It’s all too much, he doesn’t know where he is, or what’s going on, he can’t move, speak, he can’t even put together a decent thought about any of what’s happening. Baekhyun just lets it all happen, accepts it, feels the weight crush him slowly, the silence scratch at his mind.  _

 

_ There’s a sound, constant and rumbling, it’s distant but just close enough that Baekhyun can hear it and feel a little safe, he still feels crushed, and he tries to look around but he doesn’t even know if his eyes are open. It’s too dark. He can’t get a grip, then there’s light.  _

  
  


It’s the first and last thing he sees before he sits up in sudden panic, sweat on his head and neck, heart hammering inside his chest. He fell asleep and had no idea. It takes a second for Baekhyun to realize that his  phone is vibrating next to him and he fumbles to answer it, eyes still sore from looking straight into the light over him when he woke up. 

 

He stops when he sees the name on screen, thumb hovering over the green button. It’s Chanyeol, probably calling to ask him if he’s okay, that Baekhyun forgot to text him when he got there. Baekhyun has never second guessed answering a call from his friend before, not ever. He watches until the screen goes off, feels the vibrations rattle him and make him feel worse than he already does. 

 

Answering would just be putting the both of them in more danger. He’s already caused enough trouble, Chanyeol doesn’t need Baekhyun to make more, not when things have already gotten this bad. Another notification lights on his screen, saying that he has a voicemail, and for a second Baekhyun even contemplates listening to it. 

 

_ “I’m gonna guess you got so excited to be home that you forgot to text me.”  _ He chuckles,   _ “Understandable, you’ve always been a big moms boy.”  _ Baekhyun can hear the cocky smile on his face, but the tone changes almost instantly.   _   
_ _ “Anyways, uhm... I don’t know… How to say this, but… The investigators came back again yesterday and searched my place. It was a lot more thorough than the last time. It’s weird, even though none of your stuff is here… I think they might know, Baek. I’m kinda freaked out. Anyways, uhm… Yeah, that’s about it. Just… Stay safe until you get back. Or if you come back... Call me once you get the chance.”  _

 

The line goes dead, Baekhyun deletes the message for safety, turns his phone off, and stands up from the bed, stretching his arms. He searches around his room for a hoodie, then his coat, and sneaks out to the living room. The lights are out, the light to his mother’s room is out too, she must be asleep. He slips his shoes on, checks for his things, grabs the book Kyungsoo gave him and sneaks out the door. The town his mother lives in is just on the outside of Seoul. She decided some years back that the city life wasn’t for her anymore and moved to a quiet little place that isn’t too far outside the city. Close and quiet, just what she wanted. It’s a nice change, it’s small, quiet, and the people are friendly, Baekhyun can see exactly why she came here as he roams around the little streets admiring the houses that sit side by side.

 

The street lights flicker frantically in their own offbeat rhythm of spastic flickers. Baekhyun’s eyes gaze up to them every now and then and he gets a sudden urge to try and tamper with it and see if all the pent up frustration he’s feeling right now would be enough to shatter the bulb and send orange hazy sparks showering to the ground. He decides against it, keeps walking in a direction he doesn’t know and slips through the streets soundlessly. Baekhyun isn’t all that familiar with the town and could possibly get lost quite easy but that seems to be the last thing on his mind. 

 

Chanyeol is being targeted and it’s all because of Baekhyun. If Baekhyun doesn’t figure something out soon and get things settled, both him and Chanyeol are in serious trouble. Chanyeol was barely able to slip by this time and if they don’t act soon and get a plan laid out, there’s going to be consequences. Kim Junmyeon is on Baekhyun’s tail for all the right reasons. 

 

Baekhyun stops when he passes a park, it’s large and sits in a more empty part of the town. The further Baekhyun walks through the more he can see that it opens up into a large pond, tall dead grass covers the perimeter of it due, making it harder to reach the bank, so Baekhyun instead finds a nearby tree that looks sturdy enough and tests his physical strength by attempting to climb it. It takes a few tries and the time he makes it up to a branch that’s sturdy enough to hold him his hands are raw and dusted lightly with dirt. 

 

It’s worth it once he’s able to appreciate the way the street lamps reflect off the thin sheet of ice that covers the pond, the way the frost sparkles off the ice and thin layer of snow across the ground. It’s quiet for once, peaceful, something Baekhyun has grown away from in the past months. Baekhyun shifts slightly to adjust himself on the branch and stops when he feels something hard poke into his side. He almost forgot he brought the book on Cambions with him. The weather is nice enough tonight, and the moon is just bright enough that he can sit out here for at least a few minutes and catch up, so he does. 

 

He’s almost done, less than 100 pages left to go out f the couple hundred there are. It’s really interesting, the way Zhang Yixing doesn’t just list out a bunch of facts and studies, he lays them out intricately, in a way that makes sense and isn’t just a conjunction of information. It’s easy for Baekhyun to take in, he doesn’t read often, and when he does it has to be something exciting, that is able to keep him in, which is rare, since he has the attention span of a squirrel.

 

For the sake of getting it back to Kyungsoo as soon as he can, he’s forcing himself to read it, and he’s glad he is. Baekhyun has been able to see things in a much different light, Zhang Yixing almost writes things out to make it sound positive, like it’s not something to be ashamed of. He indirectly challenges every single statement Kim Junmyeon has made about half-demons so far and crushes them. 

 

All while learning about what he is. The shot that Kim Junmyeon sent to his leg that night hadn’t even crossed his mind until he read about the healing process. Baekhyun was able to heal on his own as soon as the bullet was removed from his leg. He didn’t remember because he didn’t _ feel  _ it.

 

It shakes him up a little. Baekhyun is still having a hard time trying to process it all. The fact that he’s been lied to about almost every major even and detail that’s shaped who he is. His father got murdered in cold blood by investigators. His father, who carried an impassable force, who protected his family through everything and worked hard to give them a future everyday, was killed. 

 

Shot down because of a force he never let anyone see, never let Baekhyun know he had, never let himself resort to. 

 

Baekhyun curses his father for never telling him, not even leaving a note or some kind of little clue behind for him for when the time came. The fact that Baekhyun had to find out from injuring one guy, killing another, and getting into an argument with his mother, who he also curses, frustrates him more than anything. All the bastard had to do was leave a note behind that said “Hey son, if you’re reading this I’m dead and didn’t have the guts to tell you that you’re a demon. P.S. Don’t let your mother lie to you” 

 

But did he? Of course not, his father was too modest. Baekhyun wouldn’t have minded waiting or discovering it on his own time when he was younger, but he couldn’t. Life just had to come around and fuck things up when he’s almost done with school and planning his life out for once. For once, Baekhyun actually had a goal, something he knew he wanted to do, and he knew he was going to set out and do it but instead he’s plastered all over news sites and the talk of the entire city. He’s this close to losing his best friend, he feels betrayed by his own mother, Baekhyun feels completely alone. 

 

And it’s all because of one simple mistake. 

 

One mistake could have kept him from murdering someone, hurting another, making the whole city want to sniff him out like dogs. If things were different then maybe none of this would have happened. He would’ve been here, enjoying a hot meal made by his mother, passed his finals, enjoy the precious time he gets with his friends and not feel judged. Baekhyun doesn’t want anyone to worry about him, he doesn’t want to feel so much tension when he’s around Chanyeol, he doesn’t want to feel anxious whenever he doesn’t have a pencil in hand to study constantly, Baekhyun just wants his life back. 

 

He wants to be able to stumble into his apartment at 3 am after coming back from a part of someone he’s never even met, he wants to continue his busy nights at the restaurant and give Taeyeon a hard time because she’s just so cute when she laughs, he wants to pull all nighters with Chanyeol and eat food that’s way too greasy for their hearts to handle and yell at each other of video games just like they did in high school, he wants it all back. 

  
  


He didn’t even realize he was crying. After all this time, all the frustration, the anger, the fear that have been swallowing him whole have finally broken through his tough skin and he can’t do anything else but cry. 

 

He cries for himself, for his parents, his friends, the investigator he killed, the tests he failed, the people he failed. He cries for being such a burden to everyone and for talking so much shit for the same people he shares blood with, he cries for everything that makes him feel, and that’s a lot. 

 

His book is abandoned now, his arms keep it pressed close to his chest and he cried silently into his hands. Baekhyun has never felt feelings like this before, even when his father died he never felt this miserable. Everything feels so out of place, so blurred together he can’t make out a bigger picture. 

 

He doesn’t know how long he sat there and cried for, but after his head started hurting and he could do nothing but stare, he decided it was time to go home for the night. He’ll apologize in the morning, settle things out between him and his mother, and hopefully get some answers without making things worse than they are. 

 

Baekhyun jumps down down from the tree, checks for his stuff once more and heads back in the direction he came. He memorized little landmarks along the way to help him find his way back without getting totally lost, and he does quite well. He’s a little over halfway when he hears something rustling nearby, followed by some troubled sounds. He knows it’s wrong to investigate, it’s not his business, but he does anyways. The sounds are too close and they don’t sound very pleasant. 

 

Baekhyun blames the sudden act of kindness from being around Chanyeol too much these days because it’s not in his nature to step into conflict if it doesn’t involve him. He listens carefully, his skin begins to prickle, and a shiver is sent down his spine and he walks a few paces forward, it’s much more easy to follow, heightened, it must be the superhuman abilities… Or whatever they’re referred to as. Baekhyun remembers it being mentioned in the book, he concentrates, tries not to scare himself at the sounds that overload his senses so suddenly. 

 

Even the smallest things he can hear, the leafless tree branches rustling together, the heart beating of the commotion he’s approaching, the words being spoken, he hears it all. 

 

“Stupid kid, you think you can ruin my reputation like that? Do you have any idea who I am?”

 

It’s closer now, Baekhyun peeks around a corner before immediately sinking back. He catches a quick glimpse, just a couple of kids, high schoolers maybe. He swallows and peeks around again, hoping he won’t get caught long enough to catch a glimpse of what’s going on. There’s a kid pinned to a wall, the boy holding him has a little group of a couple of other kids behind him. 

 

There’s a brief silence and the kid against the wall gets hit with a decent punch. The other kid didn’t even hesitate, just straight punch the kid without a second thought. Baekhyun grimaces, kids are so absorbed in the wrong things now, he thinks. The boy on the ground coughs a few times and the boys behind him laugh. He’s picked up by the collar of his shirt and the two make eye contact for a second or two and the kid is hit again.

 

Baekhyun manages to pull himself out of his shock and call out to the kids, stepping out from behind the wall as he walks towards them. He tries to keep a clear mind, he doesn’t want to do anything he knows he’ll regret, not after what he’s done so far. 

 

“Who the fuck are you?” The kid asks, eyes narrowed heavily on Baekhyun as he walks forward, the kid on the ground eyes him with worry, but a thankful smile flashes over his face as Baekhyun approaches the group. 

 

“Mindless and ignorant. Just like you.” 

 

“What did you say?”  He snaps, walking closer to Baekhyun, who shouldn’t be feeling his heart beating rapidly in his chest around some high school kids as if they’re thugs. 

 

“Just leave the kid alone. Is this how kids spend their time now? Being so self conscious over their image they hurt another’s? Stupid if you asked me.” Baekhyun scoffs. He can feel his heart rate slow down some, can feel everything slow down some. 

 

“Good thing no one did.” The kid says, balling his fists up and reaching back to strike a punch on Baekhyun now. He sees it all. Sees the kids fingers curl into his palm, senses when he’s going to release his momentum forward onto Baekhyun, and he catches it. Baekhyun holds the kids wrist in a tight grip. 

 

He looks at Baekhyun in shock, Baekhyun looks back with the same expression. He was able to perfectly calculate when this kid was going to throw and punch and caught it as if it was nothing. 

 

“I’ll give you one chance for you and your little pack to leave.”

 

The boy tries to pull back, violently trying to free his wrist out of Baekhyun’s tight grip but Baekhyun doesn’t let go. He hears the boy’s heartbeat speed up a few beats, sees how his friends stand around helplessly until their friend tells them to do something, Baekhyun can see how they glance questionable at one another before walking forward. 

 

The boy that was on the ground has now fallen back behind Baekhyun for safety, and this kid in his grasp pulls one last time and when Baekhyun doesn’t let go, his free arm reaches back for his packet and he whips out a small, shiny object. 

 

Of course this kid has a knife. 

 

He lashes it out, managing to strike Baekhyun in the side. He yelps out in pain and lets go of the kid and just as he does, a kick is sent into his side and he’s sent back into the pavement. He tries to look for it, feel it, whatever it is that makes the lights flicker and explode but he can’t. He can’t feel it, even as he stands up and steps in front of the injured kid behind him, watching the group as they walk towards them, he can’t feel it. 

 

He doesn’t feel fire in his veins, he doesn’t feel the electricity prickle his skin he just feels… Human.

 

Baekhyun never thought one of his moral codes would be to not punch a high school kid (or multiple), because he never thought he’d find himself in a situation for him to even think that, but now seems to be a perfect time to rethink. He doesn’t want to initiate any more violence than what has already been done, even if he has to resort to hauling this kid up and running, even if he gets hurt in the end, whatever, Baekhyun isn’t punching a high schooler. 

 

He can feel the blood pooling into the fibers of his shirt, it hurts, but he focuses on the matter at hand, getting out of here without laying a hand on this kid or his so called friends. 

 

The group advances toward him, all eyes narrowed and cocky smirks painted on their faces, Baekhyun takes it all in. 

 

_ “We don’t feel our power as a reaction like a lot seem to think, it’s more of a feeling. It’s something we can take in based upon how serious the situation is and manifest it into a blank canvas we’re able to paint on based upon how we feel. Happiness, sadness, anger, fear, even love can be shown through our Qualitas. It’s a matter of expression, but if one is put into the wrong situation, it will obviously be used for the wrong reasons, and that’s the only matter humans seem to focus on, which leads to Cambions getting rejected against the majority of society - Otherwise known as humans.” _

 

A feeling, he thinks. Baekhyun can’t exactly pin how he feels, but he tries to make things out under a more broad spectrum. He doesn’t feel confident in all this, but he does have an advantage as far as he knows, so that at least settles his mind some. He inhales nervously and steps forward, ignoring the pain in his side and he feels it. 

 

A feeling. 

 

He feels his heart rate speed up as he meets eyes with the kid, feels his blood start to bubble when the kid insults him, feel his skin ignite with lightning as he twists the knife around in his hand. 

“I said one chance.” Baekhyun says finally. 

 

It was as if the light burst through the spaces between his ribs. As soon as he spoke he felt the way the lights around them burst, glass sharting and sparks trickling to the ground. Baekhyun hadn’t realized he closed his eyes as a first reaction, because when he opens them the first thing he’s met with is pure terror in the boy’s eyes, bright white light illuminates their faces as Baekhyun holds the wrist with the knife in hand. 

He feels the energy of light as he hold the kid’s wrist, feels the way in tingles on his skin and vibrates through his whole body, it’s absolutely invigorating as he stares at the younger with the same cockiness as them. 

 

He lets the boy go free when he yanks again, feels the power drain from his limbs as the scatter, feels the cold rush through his hair again and he’s back. 

Baekhyun turns to face the boy behind him, he’s standing now, his lip busted and his eye a little scraped and swollen. He’s a little shaken up, granted, but he thanks Baekhyun. 

 

“You didn’t have to go to all that.” He smiles, tiredly, and Baekhyun chuckles airily in response, “We’d be here for a lot longer if I hadn’t. I hope I didn’t freak you out or anything.”

 

The boy shakes his head, “It was cool, I’ve never seen one of you guys use your powers like that.”

 

Powers… That’s a nice way to put it.

 

“But I think you also knocked out all the power in town.” The younger laughs. 

 

Baekhyun freezes. As if on cue there’s a ring of sirens erupting like wild and Baekhyun suddenly fills with panic all over. So much for trying to help. He thought he had it, controlled it, contained the limits in how far he knocked out the lights but he didn’t and now there’s no telling how far he really reached.

 

“Don’t mention it.” He smiles, trying to hide his fear, “Get home safe.” 

  
As soon as he rounds the corner on the street he bolts. He has no idea where to go, what to do, how to handle any of what’s going on. He can’t call anyone, there is no one he can go to because they know. Baekhyun has become notorious for knocking out the power in two districts and now, quite possibly a whole town. He mentally swears to himself as he weaves through the streets, lungs stinging from the cold air, he can’t make it out of this. They’ll find him somewhere, somehow. 

 

He backtracks instead, the park is vast enough that he might be able to find a place to hide until things die down, hopefully. They’re just nearby as he’s about to reach the place, he thinks maybe he got caught in their line of sight but he can’t run any faster. His legs are sore, his side is hurting, and he can feel his head throbbing again. Why? Why did he try? Why did he test himself like that when he knows he doesn’t have the strength?

 

After everything that’s happened tonight he just can’t get a break. He hears yelling and the sirens get closer and he thinks he has it until he hits something, someone, hard. They both fall back to the ground on impact. Baekhyun doesn’t have time for this, police are swarming the place like bugs, he stands up and the second figure follows and Baekhyun  gets a chance to properly make things out through the haze his mind is in.

 

“Jongdae?”

 

The male says nothing but immediately seems to understand and takes Baekhyun by the wrist and pulls him along the street. There’s yelling and sirens and Baekhyun can’t comprehend it all. If he was physically capable right now, he’s be crying again. Jongdae rounds a couple of corners, and weaves through the narrow streets and Baekhyun lets him. He doesn’t know this place, he doesn’t know where the shortcuts are and doesn’t even bother to question how Jongdae knows either. His mind is too muddled, he feels like he’s walking through a swamp. 

 

He pushes Baekhyun into a narrow crack between two houses. He stumbles trips over the clutter and garbage that sit in front of it but seems to understand Jongdae’s idea to get down, and does. A few flashlight pass over the top of their heads, causing Baekhyun’s breath to catch in his throat, but they miraculously make it out okay. They wait a few minutes for the commotion to die down and Jongdae signals for Baekhyun to follow him. He decides against it at first, finally being in the right state of mind to actually think about how much trouble he’ll put Jongdae into by doing this, just like he has everyone else and yet Jongdae still rolls his eyes and pulls Baekhyun along behind him. Baekhyun tries to pull away, tries to protest, tries to do anything that will tell Jongdae that this is wrong but they’re silenced when a figure yells out to them. 

 

A flashlight beam blinds Baekhyun momentarily and he can hear the static on the officer’s radio, as they watch. They know who he is. He can no longer feel Jongdae’s presence next to him as he stands frozen in panic. 

 

“Baekhyun, do you trust me?” Jongdae whispers. He’s close by, but Baekhyun can’t tell where.  He doesn’t move, stays still in the officer’s line of sight.

 

“Huh?” He breathes.

 

“Good.” 

 

Baekhyun can feel his legs shaking and as soon as the officer’s gun cocks. He doesn’t know whether to trust Jongdae or not, he’s barely even talked to the male. His is beating frantically and his legs give out under him, just as he crumples to the ground, the loud crack of a whip echoes around him and a few quick flashes of light flicker frantically and the officer falls to ground, his whole body spastic and voice strangled. Jongdae… Didn’t. Did he?

 

He doesn’t have anymore time to take in the sight as Jongdae has his wrist again and is weaving them through a few more streets before they’re in a different neighborhood of houses, all quiet and lined up just like his mother’s. It’s quiet as Jongdae quietly opens a gate and steps in pulling Baekhyun behind him, he shuts it, locks it, and they walk up a small pathway to a decent sized house. 

 

“Shoes.” He says as they step inside the door, and Baekhyun does so, immediately relishing in the warmth that greets him. 

 

Jongdae says nothing more until they’re in a small bedroom with hot tea, water, snacks and a little bit of antiseptic for the knife wound. 

 

“What brings you here so late?” He asks, carefully dabbing at the gash to not cause too much pain to Baekhyun.

 

“Long story.” He sighs, wincing at the sudden sting. Jongdae chuckles, “Not like I have anything better to do anyways. Spill.”

 

So Baekhyun tells Jongdae about the incident with the kids, and everything that lead up to it, Jongdae listens and nods along as Baekhyun tells him and by the time he’s done he looks absolutely amazed. 

 

“So you  _ were  _ the one who knocked the power out at the club! I knew it!” He smiles, clapping his hands together and letting out a laugh. 

 

Baekhyun doesn’t say anything, he just lets his eyes fall to the floor. “So what about you?” He asks, and Jongdae smiles, eyes curling up into small crescents, “My mom and sister live here, visiting for the holidays, like you.” He tosses the cotton ball away in the trash, turning back to Baekhyun for a brief moment.

 

Baekhyun nods quietly, “You… What did you do back there?”

 

Jongdae chuckles as he stands from the floor and walks to a small dresser, pulling one of the drawers out and digging through it, “Wasn’t it obvious? I shocked him. Sent a few volts through his body to paralyze him.” He holds up a t-shirt, inspects it, and shuts the drawer. “He isn’t dead, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He finishes, tossing the shirt to Baekhyun. The male looks at it for a moment and finally gets the hint. 

 

“So… You’re a…” 

 

Jongdae hums enthusiastically, “I knew you had to be too after what happened the first night we met. You must have just discovered it recently, huh? You seem a little hazy, and your wounds don’t heal too quickly either.”

 

Baekhyun nods, exchanging out his blood stained shirt for the one Jongdae gave him, “Not exactly on the best circumstances either. I got mugged the night things started. Took me almost two weeks for my body to decide it was even remotely okay to step outside.”

 

Jongdae hums, more to himself and he takes a sip of tea, “So how do you feel now? I mean after everything that’s happened since then have you gotten used to the intensity.”

 

Baekhyun sits quietly for a moment, he feels the same he has for over a month. Tired, nauseous, and a headache so painful it could kill him.

 

“Everything  hurts.” He mumbles.

 

Jongdae giggles and nods in agreement, “Hurts like hell if you aren’t careful. Try accidentally absorbing twenty-five thousand volts of electricity from a subway,” He laughs, “Ears were ringing like a fucking bell tower for a week, not to mention I couldn’t even stand without puking my guts out.”

 

“And you lived? How did you not get caught?”

 

“I had control of my physical strength, so escaping was cake. Still is. Other part still beats me. I was way too young to be able to handle that much power at once but it’s funny that since then my capabilities have been higher than they ever have.”

So that’s what happened. Jongdae as so much control over his senses and movements he was soundlessy able to escape out of sight when Baekhyun was caught, making him a momentary distraction so he could stunt that officer with just enough strength to leave him a little dazed. He has pure control over every cell in his body even though he could use his capabilities at maximum power anytime he wanted. 

 

Baekhyun and Jongdae chatted at his place for a while longer, it was nice to forget about everything for a moment. Baekhyun listens to Jongdae tell some stories about his electric abilities and how he and his sister would get in trouble for using them against each other when they were young. They talk about school, they talk about little things, like video games and the music they like. Jongdae seems to avoid any topics including Chanyeol, the investigators, his family, anything that may be personal or could strike a chord in Baekhyun. He seems to know Baekhyun’ situation even without knowing things to the details. He’s able to lighten things up, take away from the seriousness of the situation. 

 

It feels nice to finally be able to have a conversation with Jongdae. It seems like everytime they run into each other something gets in the way before they can even initiate a proper conversation. Things started not in the way they expected, but at the same time it’s fitting, Baekhyun feels safer than he has in a while with Jongdae knowing that he’s someone that’s been through a little of the same as what Baekhyun has, and has dealt with a lot of awful people since then. It makes the tension in his body subside a little and eases his mind. 

 

Time passed and after the commotion died down Jongdae offered to see Baekhyun home safe. The roads are quiet now, still pitch dark, but still safe with Jongdae next to him.

“So… Can I ask you a personal question? You don’t have to answer.” Jongdae speaks up suddenly. Baekhyun doesn’t look at him, he keeps his eyes focused on the ground and hums in response, he’s got nothing to lose at this point.

 

“Does Chanyeol know? About all this?”

 

“Uhm…” Baekhyun hums pensively, running a hand through his hair. They never really talked about it. Not directly, that is. Though Chanyeol has been the first one to witness everything, he isn’t an idiot. Chanyeol has knowledge on these things and sure, maybe he does know. “Yeah, I mean… He doesn’t talk about it directly but he’s seen the injuries. He’s seen it all, I- Yeah, I would think he’d have it all connected by now. To be honest if it wasn’t for him I’d probably be the CRI’s guinea pig.”

 

“That’s good,” Jongdae smiles. The way he says it sounds off from his usual tone, a little strained, but Baekhyun pretends not to notice. The male’s question suddenly sparked an interesting question in Baekhyun’s mind and he doesn’t hold back, “Does Sehun know about you? Or Chanyeol?”

 

Jongdae freezes for a split, swallows and shakes his head. “No,” He starts, “And it’s better that they don’t. Sehun for the sake of both of us not getting killed. Chanyeol… Just because.”

 

“Cause why? He’s pretty open minded, I don’t think he’d-”

 

“I’m not as close to him as you are though.” Jongdae cuts in suddenly, “His reaction might be different with me than compared to when he find out with you. Cambions aren’t the most open when it comes to sharing their identity in the first place. Opening up to a human is tricky, they might take it all sorts of ways. We see it as more of a move of trust to go that far. I don’t want him to hate me just yet.”

Baekhyun nods, he’s unsure what else to say, he doesn’t want to risk upsetting Jongdae and he doesn’t want to make things worse than they are. He understands where the male is coming from, so he doesn’t push any further. Baekhyun quickly changes the subject by asking how Sehun is since the accident at the train station, and it turns out he’s doing fine. 

 

Jongdae chuckles when he tells the story, saying Sehun was absolutely wrecked for a week straight. All jacked on pain medicine and always complaining about the pain. He kept cuddling up to Jongdae when the male was around and slept more than Jongdae had ever seen him.

 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol were pretty freaked out after they heard the details of the incident on the news when Jongdae left in a hurry that night. Baekhyun was glad to hear he recovered quickly and didn’t sustain any serious injuries. He also wonders what’s going to happen if he and Sehun also happen to cross paths again. After all, the kid is working with Kim Junmyeon, he has to know about this. 

 

Baekhyun and Jongdae exchange numbers upon getting home even though he vowed to use his phone as little possible to avoid being hunted. Baekhyun very quietly helps himself to some well deserved food, throws down some pain medicine, and crashes as soon as he adds Jongdae’s number to his phone. His eyes almost fell from his head once he saw the time and wondered how much time him and Jongdae really spent talking.

 

He stares at the screen of his phone a little longer before he decides to make one last decision and keep his little promise. 

 

**To**

**Kyungsoo (???):**

 

_ I finished your stupid fucking book now what.  _

_                                                                        Firs t of all its fou r thifyrty in  th e fuckigng moring g how da re yo u .  _ <

__

_                                                                                                                                  Sseoncd, meet e me if ur in tonw  _ <

 

And finally, one last message, surprisingly less errors in it but still enough that it makes Baekhyun chuckle before he’s out for the night.

  
**From**

**Kyungsoo (???):**

 

_ Go th e fuck to sleep _

   
  
  
  


 

**End of Chapter 8**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dont u love making urself emo over ur own stuff 
> 
> Anyways thank you for reading - I hope it was okay for how long it was. It wasn't supposed to be this long and ended up finishing this relatively fast since I was pretty (very) excited to write this chapter. Not to mention the teachers in my state have been protesting for two weeks, so I've had a good chunk of time to get this written and polished!
> 
> I have also changed my twitter handle! So all of the other hyperlinks I have inserted previously will not take you to my twitter. 
> 
> Here's the link to my twitter now. Go and follow if you'd like and come say hi! - https://twitter.com/shuaversum


	8. Two Can Play it This Game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry i've been gone since forever i haven't forgotten i've just been super busy. A lot has been going on lately (like I graduated high school ye) so I haven't had a lot of time to myself, so I've been packing in a lot of time to write. I hope ppl are still here and reading this, I really do enjoy writing this story~

**Chapter 8**   
  
  
  


 

 

 

Baekhyun had found the next few days very off putting. He apologised to his mother sincerely, and she apologised too. Yet something still lingered that rubbed Baekhyun in very strange way that he couldn’t quite put down. His mother never brought up the issue ever again, she continued the same as if none of this had ever happened. She mentioned the power outage, but she never suspected it being her own son as the one who caused it, which relieved him.

 

They celebrated his father’s anniversary, shared a few gifts with each other, and had a nice meal together at the end of the night. All of it was still very off putting to Baekhyun. He thinks maybe he’s just overthinking it. Maybe he’s blowing the whole situation out of proportion, maybe he doesn’t fully forgive his mother for what she did, but he ignores it. He doesn’t want to make things worse for her than he already has. 

 

Baekhyun still has a lot of things to take care of before the new semester, one of them is returning his book to Kyungsoo, who after his 4 am rant through text, tried to message Baekhyun again later that morning, more civilly, asking to meet him so they could actually  _ talk _ . Baekhyun agreed reluctantly, finding himself very nervous about the meeting considering how their last few meetings have gone. Brief, and someone ends up leaving out of nowhere.

 

He told his mother what he was doing to an extent. Found himself going through three different sets of clothes, checking his appearance one time too many, and then realized how far behind schedule he was. Kyungsoo had asked to meet him on the outskirts of Seoul so he wouldn’t be seen and because it would mean meeting halfway for the both of them, but Baekhyun is late again, and is probably leaving Kyungsoo feeling forgotten and confused. 

  
  
  


When he arrives though, at the out of sight, out of mind, crammed, tiny ramen joint on the outside of the city, Kyungsoo is sitting in a back corner, and his phone in hand and a drink next to him. If Baekhyun hadn’t been through the things he’s been through over the past few days, he would have thought he saw Kyungsoo yesterday. He’s wearing the same all-black attire he did when they first met at the library. 

 

He looks up when Baekhyun stumbles in, face blank and gaze highly unimpressed, but waves him over anyways. When Baekhyun sits down, the first thing Kyungsoo does is pour him a drink, and Baekhyun only stares at it. 

 

He didn’t even get a chance to tell the other male that he can’t drink.

 

“You have the book?” 

 

Baekhyun glances at Kyungsoo, he nods, suddenly remembering the point in coming here and digs through his bag, pulling the book out and sliding it across the table to Kyungsoo, who takes it without saying a word. Baekhyun isn’t sure if he’s supposed to start conversation, since usually,  _ he  _ is the one that does. Not that he minds it. He likes talking, he likes making people laugh, it’s his personality. But when he’s sitting across from Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo who looks like he doesn’t even want to be here, Kyungsoo who is still a stranger to Baekhyun, he isn’t really sure what to say. He could try, but then again, it’s getting a response, or lack thereof that he’s afraid of. 

  
  


“Take that awful scarf off, idiot. We’re eating.”

 

Oh. 

 

So Kyungsoo isn’t cutting this meeting short this time. It’s a step in the right direction in Baekhyun’s perspective, at least. He does take it off, puts it away, then suddenly feels very nervous all over again about their situation.  

 

“You drink?” He asks, eyes flitting between Baekhyun’s untouched shot and his eyes. 

 

“It’s not that I don’t… I Can’t. Especially not at…” He checks the time on his phone,  “Twelve in the afternoon.” He chuckles, glancing down at Kyungsoo’s half-full glass of beer. 

 

“Can’t,” He repeats, “Hm.” 

 

“Lightweight.” Baekhyun mutters. It’s not the first time he’s had to explain it to someone. 

 

“I can’t believe I couldn’t guess that before.” The male huffs. Baekhyun rolls his eyes at the comment just as a waiter comes to take their order and that’s when Baekhyun notices the small double sided, faded menu in front of him. He’s quick on his head, orders the first thing he sees, and hands it to the man, asking for a water, and turns back to Kyungsoo. If Kyungsoo wants to be snarky, Baekhyun won’t have trouble getting a conversation going at all. Two can play it this game, Baekhyun can play it better.  

 

“You want me to say you told me so?” He asks, finally. Kyungsoo sighs, shakes his head, takes a sip of his beer. 

“As much as I would like it, I’m not that self-centered. I just want to know you won’t be so in denial.”

 

Baekhyun is silent for a moment, thinking, deciding, even though he knows it’s not worth it anymore. He cried over this, threw a fit and knocked out power in a whole town over this, yet he hears his mother in the back of his mind yelling at him that he isn’t, not her perfect little boy. 

 

“Yeah… I do. It-” He stops himself from saying that it wasn’t easy. That would set Kyungsoo off. 

 

“It kinda pissed my mom off that I found out. I don’t think she wanted me to.” Baekhyun says, watching Kyungsoo make a face and say, “So…” 

Baekhyun watches as the other thinks of a way to form a sentence and shake his head, as if deciding not to and insteads changes it to something else, “Didn’t she know this would happen at some point? If it didn’t when you were younger then…” 

 

Baekhyun shrugs and sits back into the booth they’re in, watching as an ice water is placed in front of him. He thanks the waiter and waits until he’s gone to continue talking. 

“She… Said something about wanting to protect me from it after my dad died.”

 

“So  _ she _ made it worse.” Kyungsoo confirms, and Baekhyun nods, “Yeah… Pretty much.”

 

There’s silence that hangs between them for a moment. Kyungsoo looks like he has a lot to say, his eyes shift around the room and his brows knit together. He huffs as if finally coming to terms with himself and glances at Baekhyun. 

 

“I can help you,” He mutters quietly. “I’m… Yeah… If you’ll let me. I know you’re in a pretty shitty place right now, I’ve been there. You… Shouldn’t have to feel alone, I guess.. You need to get your shit together. We have a few weeks to kill before the semester anyways.”

 

The waiter brings their food over and sets the two steaming bowls in front of them. They say their thanks, wait until he gone, and begin eating. Kyungsoo shows some kind of hesitancy with the way he speaks. It’s different from his tone from when Baekhyun arrived, it’s jumpy, all over the place. It’s like there’s something he’s trying to get to and doesn’t know how. 

 

Baekhyun hums quietly, “I dunno. I mean I-” He stops himself, he isn’t really sure if he should be telling Kyungsoo, a stranger to his life, about his personal issues and the mess his life has become in just a couple of weeks. Kyungsoo may understand to some extent, it’s not like Baekhyun is talking to his mother or Chanyeol. He’s talking to someone who has endured a lifelong secret, someone who has known nothing but the struggle of living with something people will see him entirely different for. 

 

Baekhyun inhales, then exhales, puffing his cheeks out as he tries to figure out a way to say what he wants without making it sound like he’s asking for sympathy of some kind. 

 

“I know that you’re a fugitive. If that’s what you’re avoiding.” Kyungsoo says through a mouthful of food, which Baekhyun is quick to shut him up with a rough kick under the table, just like he does to Chanyeol. 

 

“No one asked you, for one,” He starts, glancing behind him to make sure he’s safe to speak, “And two, I don’t want to sound like I’m asking for sympathy. I can handle this.” Baekhyun huffs, sitting back into the booth and crossing his arms. Kyungsoo swallows, stares, then chuckles, adjusting the thick framed glasses on his face. 

 

“Handle what?” He clips, “You killed a guy and have knocked out the power three times in the city. You don’t have a single clue what you are and if you don’t learn to control it soon it’ll just get w-”

 

There’s a pinging that cuts into Kyungsoo’s sentence. It takes Baekhyun a moment to realize that it’s his phone ringing from his pocket and he fumbles to reach for it and looks at the ID. He answers it quietly but jumps when yelling erupts through the other side, making his heart jump and sending him completely off the edge. 

 

His mother is on the other side of the phone, screaming and crying.

 

“Mom? Mom, what’s wrong? What-”

 

“Baekhyun, please! They’re at the door, they-” She screams again, Baekhyun hears banging and clatter in the background, his heart clenches in his chest and he can’t hear anything else around him.

 

“Mom, hold on, okay? I’ll be there soon, just… Hide. Find somewhere and hide, I’m on my way.”

 

“Baekhyun, hurry, please-”

 

Baekhyun hangs up the phone and grabs his bag, stands up without a word and turns to leave. His head is starting to ache, he has to get out of here as fast as he can. He forgot about Kyungsoo and their conversation until the male takes afisful of his jacket and holds him in place. He swallows, it’s happening again. Whatever it is that sent him off last time. He can hear the people all the way across the restaurant chatting, he doesn’t like hearing other people’s conversation. He doesn’t like hearing the grating sound of silverware against the porcelain of bowls either, the sounds of them eating, he-

 

“Hey,” 

 

Baekhyun hadn’t realized his eyes were closed until they burn from the light when he hears Kyungsoo speak. 

“Something happen?” The males tone keeps changing, slightly, it’s annoying. The yellow light that hangs pathetically above their table flickers out of the corner of his eye. Baekhyun can’t tell if it was him or not. He doesn’t really feel anything. It should concern him, but he doesn’t have the energy to care anymore. All he can think about is his mother.

 

“I have to go.” Is all he can manage to say as he pulls away from Kyungsoo pathetically and leave the restaurant on shaky legs. He has no idea of he’s walking in a straight line, or if he’s walking at all. He feels completely numb. 

This isn’t happening. There’s no way the CRI found his mother, there’s no reason for them to have her in the first place. She’s as human as they are, she did nothing. 

 

Baekhyun doesn’t hear Kyungsoo come up behind him, he doesn’t hear him ask if he wants a ride there, he doesn’t hear anything buz the dull hum in his ears, he just keeps walking. 

 

He keeps walking until he stops. 

 

He’s stuck in place but not by his own body’s doing. He glances down to see the concrete latched painfully around his feet, all the way to his ankles.

 

“Baekhyun,”

 

The male doesn’t reply, his breath is already too shaky and he’s afraid that if he speaks he’ll fall apart. He’s wasting time, he knows he is, but there’s still a selfish part of him that doesn’t want any help. Doesn’t want to cause any trouble, to put anyone else in any danger.

 

“No.” He says flatly.

 

He’s wasting time. He knows he is. 

 

“Yes, you’re coming with me, I’ll take you. It’ll be fas-”

 

“No, you’re not going. It’s not even-”

 

He wants to say yes, he wants to so, so badly. He wants Kyungsoo to help him, but that selfish part of him can’t put him in danger.    
  


“You think I couldn’t hear your entire conversation?”

 

He’s right, in a way. Cambions have heightened abilities. They can hear things out of reach for humans. Kyungsoo heard in on his entire conversation and there is no hiding from the fact. Baekhyun doesn’t respond. He looks at the jagged rocks clamped around his ankles, he feels his fists tightening and releasing, he feels his shoulders fall. He really doesn’t have a choice. 

 

The pressure releases, Baekhyun almost falls to his knees if not for Kyungsoo grabbing him by his jacket and throwing his arm over his shoulders and walking to his car. He didn’t know Kyungsoo had a car. It’s black and shining, and the windows are tinted. It’s pretty. 

 

He’s in the front seat. He hears Kyungsoo slam the door and soon enough he’s in next to Baekhyun. 

 

“Where is she?”

 

“Uhm,” Baekhyun hums, he forgot. He never gets this overwhelmed, ever. She’s… Somewhere. He’s been there a million times but for some reason he can’t remember the address. Think, Baekhyun.

 

There’s a heavy sigh, “Give me your phone.” The male says, his tone his flat, elbow sitting on the middle console with his hand out and fingers curled in just a little. He looks so calm, so composed, it makes Baekhyun chuckle. He can hear the other’s heartbeat as he digs his phone out of his pocket. It’s quick, and fast paced, but even. He’s as scared as Baekhyun is and yet he hides it so well. 

 

_ So Cambions get scared scared too, huh.  _

  
  
  
  
  


A long time ago, sometime in junior high, Baekhyun and Chanyeol decided to test their limits and go to an amusement park. Baekhyun hated the idea. Heights and windblown hair, the fear of getting stuck inside a loop of a roller coaster or getting sick from eating way too much sugar, it never seemed appealing to him. But to Chanyeol, it sounded like fucking paradise. The idea of adrenaline pumping, speeding rides was something he had wanted to do since forever. 

 

So of course they went after school got out. 

 

It was awful. Baekhyun absolutely hated it just as much as he expected and never went to an amusement park ever again. Chanyeol got sick, Baekhyun got blisters on his feet after so much walking. They spent eight miserable hours together that they still laugh about all these years later. 

 

Baekhyun was very reluctant about the rollercoasters. He agreed he’d go under one rule and that was that he wouldn’t have to ride a rollercoaster. But Chanyeol, being that damned bastard he is, asked to ride the tallest one in the park as soon as they had walked inside the gates. Baekhyun hit him, really hard, on the back of the head, called him an idiot, told him he’d rather die, and then changed the subject to ice cream. 

 

Chanyeol did, eventually, somehow force Baekhyun to ride the damn thing. Baekhyun was terrified. Dug his fingers so far into Chanyeol’s arm there were bruises (and a little bit of blood), and screamed and swore so much he lost his voice. It was the worst experience of his life. Going two hundred something feet into the air and dropping almost vertically at top speeds was not on Baekhyun’s bucket list in the slightest. He was scared to death and remembers the way his heart thundered in his chest and how he closed his eyes so tight he saw stars when he opened them back up. 

 

Chanyeol loved it. He even bought the picture the camera took of them on the ride just to give Baekhyun shit about it. He was absolutely ecstatic afterwards and begged Baekhyun to go again, only to be rejected. Multiple times. 

  
  


It’s funny how history repeats itself. The heart rate, the sweat, the shaking and wanting everything to just 

disappear as soon as your eyes shut as tight as they can possibly go. This time it’s just a much more extreme case. No extreme heights or windblown hair or your best friend calling you a little bitch. 

  
  
  
  


Baekhyun feels his stomach drop and he hasn’t even gotten out of the car. Two large black SUV’s are parked in front of her house, police cars on standby, an ambulance nearby, lights flashing and officers wandering aimlessly. Baekhyun can only sit and stare and feel his palms start to sweat.

 

There’s something holding him in place. That frantic heartbeat, the flashing lights of the police cars, the faint static of the radios, the wheels of the gerdy rolling down the sidewalk. He gets it. Baekhyun’s senses come together, somehow and he realizes who it is under that white sheet, denies it, fumbles with the door handle much longer than he should’ve and stumbles out of the car. He makes it two steps on trembling legs until hands are on his shoulders and force is turning him away. Or at least trying. 

 

Baekhyun has more strength than he thought he did despite his current state of mind. Fight or flight left Kyungsoo sputtering in the snow behind him for a few seconds and just as he was coming up behind one of the police cars, two hands were on him again, telling him to stop, telling him he’ll get caught, telling him it’s not worth the risk and this time Baekhyun is the one sputtering in the snow. 

 

All he can do is watch helplessly. He can’t push through and demand an answer, he knows what it is, he knows what happened. He can’t demand to say goodbye, only watch as the sheet of white folds into the ambulance. 

 

He can’t move, he doesn’t want to. He’s afraid if he will he might… Something. He doesn’t really know. He doesn’t know what he feels, he doesn’t know what the tightening inside his chest means, he can’t- 

 

He can’t. He can’t be here. He can’t look at this. He wasted his time. He…

 

He wasted his time.

  
  


Kyungsoo wasted his time. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“So… Explain how this works.” 

 

Sehun is staring puzzled at the case that lies on Junmyeon’s desk, two sleek, black rings sit inside the foam protectors. They look awkward sitting inside such a big case, but they look nice. There’s no telling how expensive they are. He takes one of them out of the case and holds it up against the light, smiling as he examines it. 

 

Junmyeon finally got off his high horse since Sehun’s accident and apologized for causing a scene in the hospital right in front of Jongdae, and has, in his own way shown some sort of acceptance towards Sehun even though the male is still stuck doing his paperwork while he goes out. He’s been a little more easy going with the younger and expressed pure excitement when Sehun walked in. He immediately began explaining something was sent from the technology and science centers that was apparently a pretty big step for investigators. 

 

Apparently a couple of investigators in the United States have been the first to try them out. Then China, now Korea being next. Places with a generally high count of Cambions and the more major cities across the globe have been the first to try the things, but Sehun has been so swamped in recent work that he never really got a chance to do any research. With Junmyeon spending a lot of his recent time outside the office with the excuse that work like this is far out of Sehun’s capabilities, the young investigator hasn’t really been in the loop on recent news. 

 

“They’re called ‘C-Equalizers’. They specialize in defense and attack. Using their own power against them is almost ten times more effective than bullets. And get this,” He smiles, holding up another one of the sleek rings, “The power is absorbed through direct combat.”

 

“Hyung… They’re just rings.”

 

Junmyeon shakes his head, “Here,” He hands one to Sehun who examines it closely before sliding it up his finger, Junmyeon putting his on himself. 

 

“Now, you see these silver divots on the sides?”

 

Sehun nods, looking closely at the ring. He couldn’t even see the silver markings on them, not until he looked close, “Pull ‘em.”

 

Sehun examines the ring a little longer, it’s thin and durable, not super bulky either. It feels like a regular old ring. He looks at Junmyeon, who smiles at him, and Sehun looks at him in question, placing his fingers on the textured sides as if to ask if he’s doing it right. He pulls lightly, and jumps when the ring almost seems to unfold onto his skin. It falls over his hand, and up half of his forearm. It’s sleek and black, the pattern almost looking like snakeskin. 

 

“Hyung- What- What?” Sehun is in total shock. He looks up at the older with absolute pure joy in his face, looking at the newly formed glove around his arm and laughing in amazement.  

 

“The material in specially made to protect from electricity and severe burns. It even hardens on impact. It won’t keep you totally safe, but it’s better than a fucking pistol.” Junmyeon says, placing his fingers over the ring and watching it unfold in seconds. It doesn’t even look like he pulled it, it just looks like he adjusted it. 

 

“So… I don’t get it. Direct combat? Isn’t that just asking for a death sentence?”

 

“Not exactly,” Junmyeon says, glancing up at the younger who is completely enchanted with the thing on his arm. Rotating it and running his fingers along the textured material. 

 

“Most of the time taking one down involves direct combat already, right? More close contact, the dirty stuff.” Junmyeon leans against the edge of his desk, “These absorb that qualitas power and emit it directly as it was before.”

 

“So it’s easier from a distance.” Sehun says, finally looking at Junmyeon, who nods. 

 

“But, if you had to take a few hits from time to time then these still carry use. They absorb the shock energy which can be regenerated into heavier close contact force.”

 

“Fuck…” The younger mutters, “This changes a lot.”

 

Junmyeon nods, “Cambions are going to be taken in for testing more frequently than ever now. They’re becoming more hostile. Apparently my occurrence with the one at the train station wasn’t the first.” Junmyeon sighs, putting his fingers back over the ring and deconstructing the glove. Sehun copies him, and watches his own fall back down his arm, into the ring again. 

 

“What do you mean?” He asks finally, shifting his weight as Junmyeon speaks. 

 

“You went to school, so you know shooting a variant right in the head is the only known way to kill them, right?” Junmyeon stares at Sehun who nods, slowly. “At the station that night, I did just that, but nothing happened. It was like it never even felt it. It took way more than one bullet to take it down and that’s never been known to happen until recently. There have been very few cases that have been reported with this happening.” 

 

“Evolution?” Sehun asks, tilting his head to one side. Junmyeon shrugs. The investigator hasn’t talked a lot about that night at the station since it happened, and Sehun doesn’t want to pry, even if he was there. It’s mostly what happened after that he has to hold himself back from asking about whatever happened that made Junmyeon turn away so fast. 

 

“I wouldn’t say natural. I mean, they don’t just adjust to that, you know? Something in their DNA is being altered but we don’t know the causes, there’s suspicion it may be from an external force, and that’s why we’re testing. And, as much as I hate saying this, I need you to join to me.” 

 

Sehun is silent for a moment. Seven words he never thought he’d hear from the older and here they are. 

  
Junmyeon wants Sehun to join him in investigation.

 

“In…Wait, seriously?” 

 

“I don’t really have a choice anymore. I need help in this research and if I keep you from doing your assignments any longer Choi is going to rip my head off.”

 

“That’s an order, by the way.” He adds, turning and slamming the lid on the case down, securing the metal clasps. Junmyeon is nervous about the changes they’re making, though he doesn’t express it. Doing that would just cause Sehun to become more apprehensive about their situation.

Overwhelming Sehun, especially when he’s young and still inexperienced in the field will just make things worse. He’ll hold back from certain things, he won’t be as effective as he has the potential to be, something that Junmyeon has been scolded over multiple times. 

Sehun’s work is incredibly efficient and well done, according to the Chief. Sehun needs more external experience and keeping him inside to do Junmyeon’s work will hold them further back. The discussion was cut short after the Chief brought up the harsh reality that Yifan will never be replaced and will never be coming back. Sehun is the best they’re going to get and he’ll have to deal with it. 

 

Sehun tries, Junmyeon has recognized at least that much, but he’s still lacking in a lot of skill, combat especially. He was barely able to handle a variant in the train station barely a week before. 

 

“So… How does testing work, exactly? Are they on variants and regulars?” 

 

Junmyeon hadn’t even realized Sehun was still standing there until the male spoke up. If he’s being honest, most of his reluctance and lack of depending on the younger comes mostly from his sensitivity. Sehun shows more leniency when it comes to dealing with cases involving variants to the point it makes Junmyeon feel a little off when the time comes to actually work with him. He never can tell which side Sehun is taking, or if he even has one for that matter. He doesn’t want to come to disagreements, that will eat up their time and Junmyeon likes his work being clean and well calculated. He can’t let valuable evidence become clouded by innocence and a lack of interpretation on Sehun’s end. 

 

Then again, maybe that’s why the Chief Officer wants Sehun out so bad, to teach him a thing or two about what this life is really like, why variants are so dangerous and why Cambion’s can’t be trusted. 

 

Maybe this could be fun. After all, Junmyeon was once his age and remembers being the same way until Yifan came and showed him him a thing two about life outside being human and the dirty truth that lies under the facade of those demons. 

 

“Both,” He starts, “But how we do it will be up to the professionals. Either way I expect you to be up to your very best. No more of this leniency. Toughen up and know what you’re here for, you got it?” 

 

Sehun looks a little taken aback, his eyes fall to the floor, his fingers begin to twist at the new black ring around his finger, and he nods, “Understood, hyung.”

 

“We start testing in two weeks, until then you’re-”

 

Loud, shuddering vibrations send a sigh of frustration out of Junmyeon as he turns to retrieve his cell phone from the other side of his desk. It’s the Lieutenant, probably calling on the case from earlier this morning, which Junmyeon showed up after the matter in order to review everything. 

 

_ “Investigator Kim, I called about the case from this morning involving the suspected variant, Byun Baekhyun?” _

 

“Mhm,” he hums, he can feel a sudden smirk wanting to creep onto his face, this should be interesting. He heard there was quite a fight between their suspect and investigators, ultimately leading them up to having no other decision but to shoot her down. Junmyeon had arrived after they had taken her off the scene, but was quite amused with what he had heard. If only he was there to witness it. “What have you got for me?”

 

_ “The woman apprehended today has been in fact suspected to be the mother of the variant and is scheduled to undergo DNA testing within the next few days. As of now there is no further evidence of the prime suspect returning to the scene, but I interviewed the local police and they had responded to a call just a few nights ago involving a power outage through the entire town.” _

 

“I see, were there any witnesses?”

 

_ “A few high school kids reported to the police with very similar descriptions, almost matching the ones we’ve been receiving from around here. They also said the suspect was on the run for quite a while and they found a fellow officer almost in shock just a mile or so from the scene. They’re scheduled to meet you at the police station there tomorrow morning for further questioning.” _

 

“Very well, contact me as soon as you receive the results and we’ll go from there. Have a good night, lieutenant.”

  
  


They’re getting closer to catching him, they just need to find out where he’s run off to next and plan ahead. Corner him like the animal he is. Junmyeon absolutely needs this kid alive for testing and he’s stressed that very clearly to his fellow detectives. Byun Baekhyun will pay for what he’s done, and Junmyeon is going to watch it all drain from those sad little eyes.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“C’mon, we’re here.” 

 

Baekhyun’s eyes flutter open, they feel sticky and dry, he cried silently almost all the way back and eventually fell asleep somewhere in between. Baekhyun put up a fight when Kyungsoo had tried to drag him away, he hit and smacked and pulled at Kyungsoo’s hair and clothes, pushed and shoved and tried to get away, all in attempts to make the male understand that this this wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for him, if he hadn’t had asked Baekhyun to meet maybe he could have spared his mother’s life, maybe. 

 

“You’ll be safe here, I promise, just-”

 

“You know this is your fault right? If-”

 

“You can blame this on me all you want when we get inside, just get out of the fucking car, please.” The other male is already getting out and pulls Baekhyun’s door open just as he reaches for the handle. Baekhyun feels a mix between exhaustion and excitement. Physically, mentally, and emotionally, he doesn’t want to move, speak, even think. Yet for some reason he feels jittery and staticy, almost as if he’s a beacon of electricity. He can’t explain it, yet if he had to he would think it’s his qualitas acting up, making him feel all kinds of adrenaline. 

 

Yet still, his head hurts, his chest hurts, and he feels incredibly nauseous. Baekhyun can’t get the images out of his head, they’re clear as day. The news anchors, the police, the sounds and sights, the rumble of the gerdy as it carried a lump of white outside. It was all too much. He can’t imagine what they did to her in such a short amount of time. He can’t stop thinking how differently this could have played out if it was him instead of her, how disappointed she must be right now knowing where and what Baekhyun was doing at that exact moment. It’s all so much.

 

And it all ended on such a bad note. 

 

He could have been nicer about everything during his stay. Not have erupted with questions and sarcastic comments when he did. If he was just more understanding, more open to her reasons and thought to see her side through a little more maybe things wouldn’t have been so tense, yet here he is. Shuffling helplessly through a parking garage up to wherever the fuck Kyungsoo is claiming to be safe all because he was close minded and in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was so much he could have done and he froze. 

 

“You’re gonna fucking pay, you know.” He huffs, he’s still got some hiccups from the hard crying.“You-”

 

“I said shut up until we get there.”

  
  


So Baekhyun waits until they get up to a setting that’s been faintly engraved into his memory. A place where he started with a fight, and where he’ll likely end up leaving with. 

 

Kyungsoo and his strange friends apartment. He ends up hunched over the same bed he woke in, waits until the door clicks shut, then erupts. 

 

“If you hadn’t of fucking… You fucking wasted my time I could’ve saved her, she could have lived and you… You fucking took it.” He doesn’t know what to say, maybe he should have played out an argument in his head on the way back, maybe then he’d know what to say to Kyungsoo but all he can do is swear and sputter and make himself sound like completely brainless.

 

“And then what? Risk you getting killed just so you could be their little guinea pig? Get your fucking head straight, if you were there you would have risked getting more people killed. More investigators killed.” 

 

“It’s not like it matters anyways,” Baekhyun snaps, “I lost my job, my friends, now my fucking family all thanks to this fucking thing. I have  _ nothing  _ anymore all thanks to this don’t fucking tell me it’s a miracle I’m alive, fuck you. Fuck-”

 

“You aren’t listening-”

 

“No, shut up, I’m not done. I don’t care if they catch me at this point, get it? I don’t have anything else to lose, who the fuck cares anymore if I get caught? I deserve it. All going outside anymore does is make me a fucking beacon for investigators. There is no point in running and hiding not when there’s nothing left for me to hide for. You don’t understand, I ruined this for myself, okay? I…” Breathe, find your words, breathe, he can’t find them. 

 

“So you want to blame this on me because  _ you  _ asked me to meet you in the first place? You knew you put this all on yourself and you fucking know you did yet you can’t handle it, so you just put it on me instead?” 

His voice is loud but not booming, it’s heavy and deep set, intimidating. Baekhyun keeps his head towards the floor but can hear Kyungsoo fall back against the door. When he speaks up again Baekhyun doesn’t expect his voice to have lightened. It’s softened in volume but still carries the same bite. 

 

“You wanted help and I offered it just so you could turn your nose up because you know exactly what position you’re in and you don’t want to be a burden. I can  _ see  _ it. I can see right fucking through you. Whether you were there or not doesn’t even matter. You would have lost her anyways, the only difference is that you would have been in their lab getting picked and prodded right now because of the shit you’ve caused. And they want to see you down to the details. Know what makes you so out of place here, what makes you so distinct. They want to see you suffer, they want to know what gets to you and see how much of it you can handle until you can’t any longer. And even then they’ll still use you.”

 

Baekhyun wants to cuss him out again, but Kyungsoo is right. He’s right about all of it. Baekhyun is just a fucking coward who can’t trust himself with an inch of his life to depend on anyone around him so he turns away and causes more destruction. 

 

“Go to sleep and be ready to go tomorrow morning. I’m taking you out and if you try and runaway again I’m not holding Jongin back.”

  
  


He hears the door open, click shut, then it’s quiet for a few minutes. Until two, quiet knocks sound and it opens, “By the way, you almost left this in the restaurant.”

 

Kyungsoo sets it right next to Baekhyun and hesitates for a split second before the door clicks shut again. Baekhyun scoffs, according the male it’s hideous and causes a distraction. But it’s warm, and it’s kept him from getting caught. A little piece of his parents that he can hold onto. 

  
  


It’s his scarf. 

  
  


 

 

 

**End of Chapter 8**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to keep up I'm on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/shuaversum) a lot so u can be regularly updated when I'm writing and/or crying. Thanks for sticking around.


	9. Day Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyungsoo is a man of very few words. One them being "Day trip", in this case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for disappearing…. For like.. four months (two if you include the chankai oneshot i posted)….. Work has been keeping me busy along with the added family issues so things are still messy, but i have a few side works i plan on dropping soon (yes i really do mean that).  
>  I want to use the little free time I have to create content I enjoy and not hold back anymore. With that said, please wait for the other works I have, sorry again for being prime garbage. I really want to update more and share my ideas and connect with u all but doing 40 hours of physical labor every week makes that really hard and is //really// draining. That said, I’m also not going to procrastinate by being less productive with what little time I //do// have for writing, I mean it this time when I say to expect more from me. I’m really trying to push myself over this slump I’m in and get myself back on track. Again, you don’t understand how deeply sorry I am.

**9**

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Jongin tosses and turns trying to find a comfortable position on the bed as he clutches a pillow over his chest and stares up at the ceiling. Kyungsoo had been holed away in his room all day and hadn’t mentioned why, only forcing the door shut so no one could get in and swearing when he or Minseok knocked at his door. 

 

He eventually understood when the older male peeked into what was left of Jongin’s old room, and quietly shut the door and push Jongin down the hall without a word. Kyungsoo brought that useless magnet of destruction back into their home. Just when he thought everything was okay, that they were free to spend their break without any worries, Kyungsoo shows up with this  _ again _ . 

 

Minseok tried to be understanding, but Jongin knows his partner far too well to know that he’s even a little uneasy about this. 

 

Jongin huffs as his eyes flutter close. He doesn’t want to think about this, none of it. It makes his blood boil and gives him a bad feeling in his stomach that he can’t get rid of. He tries to block out the noise of the shower running and the television playing the new behind him. He doesn’t want to think about any of this. Jongin likes not thinking about destruction and violence and more about the things he’s had to face up until this point. One thing leads to another and he ends up overthinking the bad stuff of their life. 

  
  
  


_ “Investigators say the suspected variant has been on the run three weeks now and will continue the search. Anyone with any information on the variant is encouraged to call CRI Seoul headquarters immediately.” _

  
  


He hears the door of the bathroom open, he turns his head over his shoulder cracking his eyes open just enough to Minseok walking out with a towel wrapped around his waist and another around his neck. 

 

He huffs again, closing his eyes and turning onto his side, his back facing the older. 

 

_ “Head Investigator of the CRI, Kim Junmyeon announced at a public conference today that testing for the variant outbreak will begin in one week, saying that scientists and researchers will be running careful tests over variant Cambions and humans to find the link in what is causing the disruption in Cambion DNA, as well as conduct an investigation on finding the source behind it, which Kim Junmyeon has stated to be external. The CRI will also be- ” _

 

The TV flicks off and Jongin releases the breath he had no idea he’d been holding. His shoulders fall and he blinks his eyes a few times before closing them again, only to tense back up when a voice speaks behind him. 

 

“You’re still pouting?” 

 

Jongin can feel the smirk on the other’s face as drawers open behind him. He doesn’t reply, that’s just going to encourage him. Jongin has held back far too much already to let his feelings show, at this rate, he feels like anything he says will just result in more harsh things following. 

 

He hears the ruffling of fabric behind him. Minseok will just keep pushing until Jongin breaks, he knows it. He knows there’s no use in holding back and that somehow, he’ll end up spilling. 

 

The bed dips behind him, Jongin’s grip tightens on the pillow he’s still clutching onto. He tries to reach out and pull the covers over his head in attempts to hide, but he’s caught. He doesn’t have a problem voicing his worries to Minseok. That’s what he’s there for. This time it’s something different that’s making Jongin hold back and not want to share. 

 

Jongin groans, turning to bury his face into his pillow, he doesn’t want to talk. There’s too many images flashing through his head as he replays what he heard playing on the TV, Minseok is the least of his worries anymore. 

 

They’re taking Cambions in for testing. Not that they haven’t been testing already, now they’re just upping the number and finding an excuse to torture innocent lives. 

 

Jongin hadn’t realized how quiet it had been in their room until he slipped. He must have laid there for a few minutes in total silence until he finally let go a little. 

 

“I don’t wanna go back there.”

 

It’s quiet again, he thinks maybe Minseok fell asleep or left the room without him noticing until he’s startled by the arms that wrap around his waist and pull him back. 

 

“You aren’t going anywhere, Jongin.”

 

“How can you say that? Don’t you get it, Hyung, we have a fugitive in our house. If they find out they’ll take all of us and I don’t…” Jongin swallows, trying to keep his voice steady, “I don’t want to go back there again… Not after everything I went through to get out.”

 

The grip around his waist tightens, Minseok presses his lips against Jongin’s shoulder as his fingers trace over the scar on his abdomen, “I know. But listen, they aren’t going to take you back. You aren’t who you were back then, Jongin. You’re stronger now than ever and you have people around you who aren’t going to let them take you that easy.”

“I’m not going to lose you to some humans, I’m not that easy.” 

 

Jongin feels the elders lips curl into a smile against his skin and shifts a little, turning over so he’s face to face with Minseok, “But what about… You know…”

 

“Baekhyun?” He asks, letting his fingers trail down to Jongin’s waist, toying with the waistband of his boxers. Jongin totally forgot his name. “Kyungsoo will figure it out. Trust him and don’t get in the middle of anything. Hopefully this will all quiet down soon.”

 

Jongin doesn’t say anything, he just lets his eyes fall his fingers that he’s been nervously playing with all this time. He doesn’t like any of this, but he doesn’t need to say anything for Minseok to understand how he feels about this. 

 

He should have expected for Minseok to thread their fingers together but Jongin couldn’t help the surprised look on his face when the action broke him out of his thoughts, more so when the older takes the action one step further and pushes Jongin flat on his back and falls right on top of him, no mercy shown, letting all his weight fall onto Jongin. 

 

He stays like that before he pushes himself up just high enough to meet Jongin’s eyes, hovering over the younger for a moment before smirking and pressing their lips together. 

 

Minseok pulls away, eyes lit up and smile still plastered on his face. Jongin blinks at him, lips out in a pout as he wiggles his fingers to try and make some use of his hands which are both trapped under Minseok’s, “I know there isn’t a lot I can say to make you feel better, but I hope you’ll trust me through this… I know that seems like a lot to ask but…”  

 

Jongin is swift to break off Minseok’s sentence by craning his neck up to kiss him. 

 

Minseok and Kyungsoo have been the only people that Jongin has found himself grow increasingly more close to since everything that’s happened. It feels nice to have Minseok by his side and constantly supporting him even when Jongin doesn’t truly feel his best. Minseok is quiet, like Jongin, but he’s got personality, his character when he’s alone changes to someone else completely and it’s someone Jongin has become incredibly comfortable with over few short years they’ve known each other.

 

The relationship thing came out of nowhere for the both of them. Pleasantly unexpected, but it’s been a steady ride for almost a year and Jongin feels the best he ever has. It feels good to finally be in a place that he can confidently say he feels genuinely good about himself. 

 

Minseok falls back down onto Jongin, finally releasing his grip from his wrists. “Get some rest before you overthink yourself to death.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


Baekhyun hadn’t expected to be woken up so violently. Honest, he didn’t expect to be woken up at all. He barely managed to sleep last night with so many feelings and thoughts reeling his eyes to stay open and him to toss and turn on a bed that wasn’t his. 

 

Violently refers to Kyungsoo walking into his room absolutely unannounced, and saying, very proudly, “Get up destructor, we’re going on a day trip.”

 

Baekhyun had somehow managed to fall asleep somewhere in his crisis hadn’t noticed how uncomfortable a position he was in until he was woken up. His rear hurts and his neck his sore, so are his shoulders. He looks up, his arms are folded over his knees which are brought up to his chest, meeting eyes with a still unincredibly, unimpressed, Kyungsoo. 

 

“You seem to favor lying on the floor.”

 

Baekhyun can’t say anything to him, his throat is too dry and he doesn’t have the energy. Just being awake now is too much and he doesn’t even want to make eye contact with the other standing in front of him. He scowls before he lets his head fall into his arms again. None of this feels like it should be happening like this. He can’t process what happened yesterday. It feels wrong, like a dream, but still so real and vivid enough, still so much pain that it also makes him convince himself that everything he saw, he heard, he felt; it was all real. 

 

“Hey, listen I know you probably don’t want to see my face right now, but I need you to come with me. You need this.”

 

Yeah yeah yeah. Keep talking about the one thing he doesn’t want to think about, keep making him remember. Baekhyun totally doesn’t need time to understand and accept all of this, not all. 

 

Obvious sarcasm considering he’s gripping desperately onto the last bits of consciousness and decency he has left. 

 

“Please, Baekhyun, after this I’ll leave alone for however long you want, just  _ please _ , for the love of fuck come with me for a few hours.” 

 

Baekhyun sighs, he really, really, really wishes he had the energy to throw Kyungsoo out of his ‘room’ but he only sits up and falls back against the wall staring sadly at Kyungsoo. 

 

“Progress. Come on,” He says, taking another step or two forward and offering his hand out Baekhyun to take, which he doesn’t and only scowls at. Kyungsoo sighs this time, taking it upon himself reach down and tug at Baekhyun’s hand gently, trying to urge him up without having to actually pull him up. Baekhyun feels absolutely lifeless. Nothing, barely a thought exists inside his head and he can only stare and process what Kyungsoo is doing and saying in front of him. He feels the warmth of the other’s hand around his though, it’s nice. 

 

“Jesus you’re freezing.” He mumbles, pulling a little harder at the males arm trying to prompt him to stand, and Baekhyun, without much thought, actually does. He stumbles a little, but the other’s grip is still loosely wrapped around his own hand. He feels his throat tighten a little, his chest tightens. Why does he want to cry suddenly? He just stood up, he shouldn’t be wanting to cry, but here he is, trying to hold back tears for absolutely no reason other than the fact that he can’t comprehend anything that’s going on. He feels absolutely useless. 

 

‘Destructor’. That was a good one. 

  
  
  


Kyungsoo may as well have been carrying a dead body out to his car. Trying to get Baekhyun out of their apartment and down to the parking garage was a challenge on it’s own because Baekhyun only managed to carry the capability of shuffling his feet across the floor pathetically.  

 

Once Baekhyun is in the passenger seat and Kyungsoo is just opening his door to get in, he stops halfway, making a sound and he looks at Baekhyun, “I forgot something, wait right here.” 

 

Baekhyun does. It’s not like he’s going anywhere after all. He looks around the garage, his eyes scanning his surroundings in a haze. He’s finally starting to wake up a little. Not a lot, but just enough to actually concern himself about the possibility that he probably looks like a total wreck right now. He’s hardly eaten anything within the past day or so, his face is probably swollen and his hair probably looks (and smells) like it’s in desperate need of a shower. 

 

He can’t really fix it though, it’s a little too late for that. He makes a mental note for when he gets back… That is, if he does come back here. 

 

He catches Kyungsoo making his way back across the lot and when Baekhyun catches what’s in his hand, he almost smiles. 

 

It’s that stupid scarf that managed to steal from his mom some years ago in high school for a convenience store trip and he just ended up keeping it. She let him, she never really used it because she thought it was too bulky and obnoxious. Which it is, but it’s soft. Like, super soft, and super warm. Baekhyun made a routine of wearing it every winter because it’s like his own little cocoon.

 

Now it’s all he has left of his family. Besides the pictures, it’s something that was part of her. A bitter reminder of the pain he’s caused. 

  
  


When Kyungsoo gets back in and hands it to him, Baekhyun doesn’t even take it. 

 

“I just figured… I mean you wear it a lot, I dunno…”

 

He turns his gaze away, leaving Kyungsoo to do whatever he wants with it. There’s an awkward pause as he tries to find something to do with it, turning to look in the backseat once or twice, and hesitantly sets it down on the middle console awkwardly and starts the car. 

 

It takes Baekhyun a little bit to fully process the quickly flashing road signs. They’re leaving the city completely, but to where he still has no idea. He just watches the city slowly turn to nothing as the time passes. 

 

He starts to wonder how Chanyeol is doing at this time. If he’s worrying too much and if he’s taking care of himself. If he’s still getting searched by Kim Junmyeon and his dogs. 

Hopefully not… Chanyeol doesn’t mean any harm, he’s the last person Baekhyun really has left in all this and even with that being said he still ends up asking himself if that’s really going to last at this point. 

 

Chanyeol has every reason to stand his ground and be a little standoffish. Baekhyun wants to check up him, see how things are, maybe ask about how his music thing is going or if he’s seen Jongdae lately. Going there is too dangerous but it isn’t like he has a phone to just call him up anymore either. He isn’t even sure if Chanyeol would want to see him anymore. That stupid thought, it just keeps resurfacing. Maybe it’s true though, maybe it’s best that Baekhyun just keep his distance until everything passes… That is if it does. Kim seems pretty determined in hunting Baekhyun down and picking him apart until he’s nothing but a sad skeleton.

 

The last part of that phone message he received from Chanyeol a week ago sends a shudder down his spine. _“If you come back.”_ What does that mean? Chanyeol is usually never cryptic serious matters. He’s always willing to solve a problem and make things right because he hates having tension yet for some reason that “ _if_ ” just drives Baekhyun totally insane. 

  
  
  


“Okay, this is it.”

  
  


Baekhyun snaps himself out of his thoughts to actually focus on the world outside. It’s plain, just a big, wide open, dead field. 

 

He looks over at Kyungsoo in question, watching as he removes the key from the ignition and begins undoing his seatbelt. Baekhyun looks back outside, eyeing the frosted, mostly dirt covered, plain flat land in question. He has no idea why they’re here. Kyungsoo never even told him other than the word “daytrip”. 

 

“You wanted my help right?” He asks, opening the door and stepping out. 

 

Baekhyun sighs, sitting up straight and lazily moving to undo his own seat belt and opening the door to be faced with frigid cold wind. Not how he wanted to spend his day.

 

Kyungsoo is a few yards in front of him, his back facing Baekhyun and towards the horizon, which falls and rises into hills and mountains. He looks a little strange in his giant puffer coat, big and fluffy for such a small figure. 

 

Kyungsoo turns around as Baekhyun steps closer behind him, a small smile across his face as he looks at Baekhyun with eyes that say trouble. Baekhyun is about to turn around, shake his head and cuss out Kyungsoo for this. It’s a bad idea, it’s stupid, he’s stupid, all of this is stupid and he should never have gotten anyone involved because this is just a recipe for death. 

 

“I know you don’t like this,” He starts, taking a breath and continuing, “But right now, you kinda have no choice. Hate me all you want, but at this point, no one else is gonna help you but me. I’m not gonna torture you or anything, we’ll take it easy today. Kinda get a feeling for things.”

 

He’d scoff if he could, but only ends up rolling his eyes and stuffing his hands into the pockets of his coat. He hates the idea of this. Considering how things have gone the past few weeks, he’s going to end up overthinking and hurting someone, maybe himself or Kyungsoo.    
  


“We’re too far out of range for you to knock out any power. We’ll move further downland so that way you won’t hurt the car either… Just in case. But, I don’t think things will get that out of hand today. Like I said, just getting a feel for things. I know those lichtenberg marks aren’t very flattering.” He says, turning around again and walking downhill, Baekhyun reluctantly following behind. He hates the idea of all of this. Absolutely despises it. If he could open his mouth and tell Kyungsoo how much he does, he would. 

  
  


He really doesn’t have the energy for this. He hardly has an idea of how he’s even walking down a hill at this moment. He doesn’t want to move, he doesn’t want to be out in the cold and doing things he doesn’t want to. He wants to be at home.  _ His  _ home, with his  _ family _ . Not strangers. 

 

Of course, if Baekhyun can’t speak, he’ll overthink himself to the ends of the Earth and blow up on someone who is only trying their best to help him. 

 

Upon reaching the base of the hill, Kyungsoo turns around again to face Baekhyun, who is trying his very best to not slip of any ice or wet patches grass. “I guess I forgot to tell you what my thing is. I guess you figured it out yesterday but… I can manipulate the earth through force. Fun times.”

 

“You though,” He drags,desperately trying to put his words together  “You’re interesting. I can’t tell if it’s some kind of energy manipulation or… I dunno. It’s strong though, whatever it is.”

 

Of course, he’s killed like, one whole person already and wiped out the power how many times now?

 

“I’m still believing you actually read that book I gave you. So with that said, I’ll just refresh your mind and lay down some of the basics.”

 

“Basically…” The male sighs, trying to put his words together simply, “We were never intended to be made out as evil. It just… Happened over time. Originally we were a kind of symbol of power and strength, something made from the Earth. I guess at some point in time they looked up to us.”

 

Kyungsoo pauses for a moment, shakes his head and quickly changes the subject, obviously run dry of things to say.

“Whatever.” He says, “It’s all history. Anyways, what I’m trying to say is I don’t want you to look at yourself as someone bad or not meant to live this life. Take advantage of what you can do, make it your own, just don’t fucking kill anyone.”

 

Kyungsoo pauses again and Baekhyun watches his eyes widen in realization and he holds his hands out defensively. “Wait, wait, I didn’t mean it like that… Fuck, I’m sorry…” 

 

It’s whatever, Baekhyun thinks. Kyungsoo didn’t mean it, not in an offensive way, he wasn’t trying to rile Baekhyun up, it just slipped out. It’s okay, he wants to say, but he only blinks instead. 

 

Kyungsoo goes over a few things about qualitas, how it feels and why it’s used, what others use it for in modern times, he speaks slowly, trying to be careful of his words and not say anything that might possibly offend Baekhyun. He keeps it all simple and quick, easy stuff for Baekhyun’s cluttered mind to understand. Kyungsoo is a very soft spoken person. He gets his point across without a whole lot of explanation or story time in between. He’s simple. Plain. 

 

He shoves his hands into his pockets and takes a breath. 

 

“I want to show you something, is that okay?”

 

Baekhyun nods once and watches a small smile flicker on the other’s lips. His hands slip out from his pockets and he rubs them together. He takes another breath, letting one hand fall to his side and slowly extending the other, facing his palm up to to the gray sky. Baekhyun watches silently and curiously as Kyungsoo curls his fingers in towards his palm slowly. 

 

He’s confused as to what he’s supposed to be looking at. It just looks like Kyungsoo is doing hand exercises of some kind until movement over in the distance catches his eye. Small pebbles roll across the ground, all bouncing and rolling in their direction and slowly ascending into the air. 

 

“I don’t want to make things too flashy, but you get it.” He says, extending his other arm out and full length, fist closed tightly. The pebbled scattered in the air close in on him slowly, tighter and tighter to the point that the pebbled begin to lock around his fist and up his forearm, forming a big, bulky, rocky glove. 

  
“I didn’t want to do this, but it’s always too tempting.” He says, letting a smile fall over his lips again. Kyungsoo is still and silent for a few seconds, contemplating, thinking, and finally deciding. He takes a few steps forward and, with his rock covered fist raised in the air, sends it straight down into the earth, causing a low rumble and vibration strong enough to wake Baekhyun up from his sleepy state and actually focus on keeping his balance. 

 

Kyungsoo stands up straight, curling his fingers in a and out as he turns around to look at Baekhyun with a light hearted smile on his face, “ I could do more, I just want to get the point across.” 

 

“I could’ve sent a chunk of Earth into the air if I wanted to.” He starts, “But I held back. Limiting myself to my primary resources and then getting bigger if need be. For someone who is meant to control light, you’ve spent your entire life in the dark.”

 

“Control is essential when you’re trying to master your qualitas. You need to know yourself and you need to have some level of confidence in yourself to do the things you have in mind. You have no idea what you’re truly capable of besides blowing out my light bulbs and knocking out the power.”

 

Baekhyun gets it now. Kyungsoo is going to try and make Baekhyun manifest his power. It’s endearing, but Baekhyun has no idea how he did it the first time, or the other times after that. It was just a big burst of light he saw for a split second before it disappeared and someone was left injured… Or worse.

 

He knows he can’t escape from his power, he can’t just turn it off and never use it again. But really, he hates it. He doesn’t want to know anymore about it or use it for any reason ever again, even if it meant saving the world. 

 

“Listen,” Kyungsoo says, “I know you don’t want to talk, and I didn’t want to force you but… You kind of need to tell me something. What did you feel when you manifested those few times? Like, physically, what did your body feel like when you realized something was about to happen?”

 

Fuck, he thinks. He has no idea. Everything happened to quickly that he doesn’t fully remember the feeling. It hurt like hell, but what more can he say besides that?

 

“It… Hurt.” Baekhyun says quietly. Speaking suddenly feels so unfamiliar, his throat feels dry and rusted as if he hasn’t spoken in a million years. 

 

Kyungsoo sighs, “Okay, where?”

 

“Huh? I don’t know. I don’t remember.”

 

“Just think about it for a second. What was something you remember happening to you that was consistent every single time?”

 

Baekhyun shifts on his feet, eyes falling to the ground where he scufs the dirt under his shoe. He thinks about the mugging, the night at the club, the night he saw those kids fighting. 

 

He always feels the same frantic heartbeat and headache and ringing. How is he supposed to know what is and isn’t common?

 

“My head hurts, my body feels really warm… My ears ring.” He mumbles, still scuffing the earth. He really hates this. 

 

“Ears ring? That’s new.” He smiles, “Usually there’s a  side effect of pain that you feel depending on the intensity. Like, my chest gets really heavy, like there’s a giant rock sitting on it. Minseok-hyungs’ lips turned blue one time and Jongin gets really bad nosebleeds. It’s different for all of us.”

 

Kyungsoo takes his hands from his pockets, rubbing them together in thought before he turns back to Baekhyun, “I’ve never had to train anyone on doing this before so I might not be great at this, just try and follow what I’m saying though, okay?” 

 

Baekhyun nods, feeling a twinge of nervousness in his heart. He hates the idea of this. Training. It makes him sound like a dog. A clueless, stupid circus animal with no real direction. He never, in a million years thought he would he standing in an open barren field with someone he only met a month ago trying to use a power he only discovered a little over a month ago. 

 

All Baekhyun wants is his life back. If this means being the first step in obtaining that, he’ll do it. He’ll do whatever it takes to get his dumb, boring, uninteresting life back. If this means he won’t have to fear being under the eyes of the CRI every second, he’ll get to work a job with nice people, he can sing obnoxiously to pop songs at 3AM while dying in video games, he’ll do it. 

 

“Close your eyes for me.”

 

Baekhyun can’t feel the glare he shoots Kyungsoo when the male gives him the order. He only realizes when Kyungsoo’s own eyes widen from offense, “Cliche, I know but I need you to. Come on.” he says, waving his hand up and down as if trying to speed up the process. With a sigh, Baekhyun shuts his eyes, and impatiently waits for his next order. 

 

“Okay, now try and concentrate on how you feel right now… Just, focus on your body, then on the world around you. Just breathe and listen, but really just try and feel.” 

 

Baekhyun inhales slowly, exhales even slower. He feels like shit right now, in all honesty. He doesn’t think he’s even in the right state of mind to be doing something so reckless but here he is, taking in all of Kyungsoo’s words and trying to do exactly as he says. 

 

It’s cold. He feels the winter breeze low across his face, making him squeeze his eyes shut tightly. It’s cold, he really hates the winter. 

 

“Try and focus on what’s going on inside you.” Kyungsoo breaks the silence, his voice is warm and soft. “Think about your cells, your blood moving, your heart pumping. All the small moving components that make you up.”

 

Baekhyun feels himself nodding, taking another slow breath and really trying to feel it. Whatever it is. He stays still, eyes closed and his breath even. He listens to himself breathing first, soft, even breaths. In and out. He listens a moment longer, feeling his ribs move in and out, with each breath. He can feel his heart pumping. Each rythmic beat is in perfect time and he can hear every single count it makes, like a metronome. One, two, three, four, he waits, he studies it silently, he feels it and tries not to feel himself get overwhelmed. 

 

He tries to dig a little deeper, to feel his blood coursing through his veins, the powerful feeling of it all rushing as his heart beats. He clenches his jaw, it’s a weird feeling. Not painful, just uncomfortable. To be able to hone in on every microscopic detail of himself and to feel it all happening in real time? He hates it. 

 

He opens his eyes without a second thought, stumbling on his feet and blinking to get used to the light. “That was disgusting.” He gasps, eyes narrowing on Kyungsoo who hasn’t said a word, so much as moved a muscle. 

 

“You were there though. Even I could tell. If you can understand the way your body works it’ll make it easier to use your abilities later. Try it again, just try and focus more on manipulating what you feel. Don’t freak out if it starts hurting and just stop.” 

 

“What? So I do what I just did again?” 

 

Kyungsoo nods, “Yeah, but actually take control this time.” 

 

This is getting weird. Baekhyun does not, has not liked this idea from the beginning. Even Kyungsoo has admitted that whatever Baekhyun posses is intense and scary and has given him every single reason why using it is a horrible idea.

 

“Remember what that book said. It’s a feeling. Not a reaction. You’re channeling two different energies into one, of course it’ll take a lot of control, just do your best. I’m right here.”

 

Right, that totally makes him feel better. Feeling more pain on top of the pain he’s already feeling and trying to make that into… Light? He sighs, closes his eyes and thinks for a moment. His mind suddenly skips backwards a week to the night he helped that kid. He wanted to use his ability as a defense, and he did. He remembers how he was able to sense the movement in front of him when the first punch was thrown, and how he was able to channel that feeling just like Kyungsoo said. 

 

It’s a feeling. The Qualitas itself isn’t based on feeling, it is one itself. That was how he did it.

 

Now the real question is how is he going to manifest actual light from his body if the only reaction he knows is knocking out power?

 

He goes back over the routine again. Feeling the movement in his body, feeling the way things work together and the energy each creates. He feels it all, slowly rather than all at once like he did all those times before. Baekhyun ignores the feeling that made his eyes snap open last time, continues to just let it all happen. He already doesn’t like the feeling that is starting to settle into his body. It’s familiar, and though the feeling is still subtle, he can feel the burning inside. 

 

It grows steadily. The more it does, the more Baekhyun is forced to remember the events that have put him here. He hates it. He hates this. Everything about it makes him feel disgusting and awful. Every single second that passes he can feel himself getting warmer, he can feel the electricity and the buzzing, he can feel himself growing more numb. The more he’s forced to remember the past few months that have made him into this, he uncovers everything behind them. The feelings of hurt and guilt, the pain he hasn’t been able to stop feeling, the smiles that became replaced with disappointment and the moments that he’ll never be able to live the same again. 

  
  


Every single moment that resurfaces in his memories from over these few months drive him absolutely insane. Baekhyun, no matter what others keep trying to tell him, will never live the same life he once did no matter how hard he tries. He’s lost the people closest to him, he’s lost his direction in life, he’s lost all hope.

 

He can’t tell what he does and doesn’t have control over in this moment. He can’t feel his feet on the ground and he can’t hear the sound of himself breathing, he feels weightless, just like all those times before, but there’s a difference. 

 

He’s conscious. Baekhyun doesn’t see white, he doesn’t feel like a caged animal. He’s here, he’s thinking, he just doesn’t know what to do now. Does he move? Is he moving? Can he open his eyes? He’s thinking, but there’s nothing more than that. How frustrating, Baekhyun thinks, to be able to feel this much and not even move. 

 

He really can’t empathize how much he absolute hates this. He can’t even open his eyes. It hurts, his mind feels like a wall of ice that’s collapsed, there’s no way he can keep doing this. But he can’t stop it. He doesn’t know how to let it go. Just drop it altogether and stop feeling it. It’s not like he can’t just speak out to Kyungsoo, he can’t even figure out what his body is doing in the first place. 

 

Panic is setting in. Fear is starting to replace the anger as  Baekhyun tries to shake himself out of whatever this is only to be faced with the same darkness, the same burning feeling, and the same nightmarish memories. Each one becoming more vivid than the last, the sounds are becoming louder, his heart beat is becoming deafening in his own ears and everything feels like it’s been totally flipped upside down and Baekhyun wants out.

 

“Hey, hey! Baekhyun, are okay?”

 

It takes him a second to come back. Once all the details become less noticeable and he can actually see what’s in front of him. Baekhyun is on the ground, a small pain in his rear and palms, he must have fallen in the midst of his…. Whatever that was.

 

“Hey, look at me, are you hurt?”

 

Nauseous. Very nauseous now. He has nothing to let out though. He hasn’t eaten in almost a day, water is also out of the question, all he can do is sit and anticipate acid to come out and burn his throat and make his eyes water. 

 

“I hate this.” Baekhyun croaks. His throat is closed tight and his lips are dry.

 

Kyungsoo, who is crouched in front of him, drops back and sits in front of Baekhyun, pity written all over his face.

 

“We can leave if you want. I don’t want to stress you out. You’re already going through enough… I just-“

 

“No,” Baekhyun finds himself cutting into Kyungsoo’s sentence quicker than he could think about it. “You said I need this, right? You’re the only person left who can help me even do this though you don’t want to. Help me figure this out and I’ll get out of your way.” 

 

“You’re persistent on making that happen.” He starts, looking down at his fingers as he begins to pick at them, “Where do you plan on going exactly?”

 

Baekhyun pauses. He thinks it over, then he thinks it over again, and realizes that he doesn’t really have any options. But he can’t stay, that’s still a death sentence. Everywhere is a death sentence. Besides that, Kyungsoo is barely a mutual friend, and what about his roommates? They don’t need a walking fugitive inside their house when they’re already trying to stay out of the way of the feds. Baekhyun is just another problem on their shoulders. More destruction just waiting to happen. 

 

The silence was his answer. The sad ‘nowhere’ they both knew was coming. 

  
  
  
  


Kyungsoo nods, humming mostly to himself, “I know someone who was…  _ Is,  _ I guess, exactly the same as you are. Always so determined to figure things out on their own and not become a burden to anyone. He has a pretty remarkable qualitas, trying to help him understand his abilities and his place in the world felt like a lifetime. He’s had it pretty rough too.”

 

Baekhyun tilts his head up to look at him. Kyungsoo doesn’t look back, only keeping his eyes focused on his fingers. “You know, if I’m being honest, I tried to convince Jongin to turn away that night we saved you, but he refused.” Kyungsoo pauses, lets the sentence linger for a moment and then continues, “You guys would really get along well. I think he could help you more than I could, honestly.” Another pause, more fumbling with his fingers, typical. He’s hiding something. Baekhyun has a feeling he’s hiding a lot of things. 

 

“Anyways, let’s try this one more time and we’ll leave. You look exhausted.” He says, finally glancing over at Baekhyun and pushing himself off the ground, extending a hand out to help the other. 

 

Baekhyun feels absolutely drained. He didn’t realize it at first, but now he really feels like he could collapse. He can’t, he couldn’t even if he wanted to. Something in his head is telling him he needs to get this right, there’s no other choice. Besides, he’s already so close to getting an idea, things will be a lot easier if he can manage to pull this off. 

 

“You sure you’re okay to try this again?” Kyungsoo asks, eyebrows raised in question and concern. Baekhyun nods, a little too confidently, rubbing his hands together. 

 

“Okay. If you keep practicing this you’ll be able to manifest without even thinking about it. The first few times are rough just because it’s something your body isn’t used to yet. You ready?”   
  


Baekhyun hums, facing his palms towards the sky, taking one last breath before closing his eyes. He notices a difference almost immediately. It doesn’t feel as foreign as before, it’s still strange, it’s still uncomfortable, but he understands it, and it settles much quicker than before. He just needs to keep the feeling going, maybe channel more of it if that’s even possible in the state he’s in. 

 

He wants to see it though. He wants to see exactly what’s been haunting him for the past months, what’s kept itself hidden from him his entire life. He wants to see exactly what form this takes when it isn’t being used out of panic and fear, what it is that makes him what he is. 

 

Baekhyun goes through it all like he did before. It’s still just as unsettling, knowing he’s awake and active but not knowing if he’s moving or not. It feels a little bit like sleep paralysis only standing. He tries to relax a little more, remember that it’s nothing and it can’t kill him… He hopes not. 

 

He reaches the same point he did the first time. That kind of borderline panic of not knowing what he’s doing and feeling completely immobile. He’s still conscious, if he can somehow use that to work in sync with whatever his body is feeling maybe he can get another step further. Baekhyun thinks about their environment, the details around him, Kyungsoo in front of him. He hears the other male quietly breathing, his steady heartbeat, he hears him fumbling with his fingers again, then something that takes him absolutely off guard. 

  
“You’re doing good.”

  
  


It’s quiet. A little shy sounding, but enough that Baekhyun can hear it. Maybe Kyungsoo can tell he’s in a decent state right now, maybe he can tell what Baekhyun is trying to do. Yet still, for some unknown reason Baekhyun can’t open his eyes. It’s not that he doesn’t want to see what he’s doing, he does. But the idea of how strong the power of whatever is floating in the palm of his hand can do is… Intimidating. 

 

It burns, even. Just thinking about it, feeling the energy, it’s painful. 

 

And then the nightmares come back around full swing again. The people and the lights dancing and flickering. The sounds, especially, are overwhelming. Glass shattering and hearts beating. The sounds of nervous ticks from the day he took his dreaded finals and the heartbeats of everyone he’s seen and talked to. The way Chanyeol’s music vibrated into his ears day after day and all the conversations he’s overheard that he didn’t want to. 

 

Somehow, things go a little deeper. He hears the ringtone of his mother’s old cell phone. The same one she used when they got the call about his dad. The way he heard his mother cry and the her voice quivered when she was on the phone. The sounds of monitors beeping and equipment humming and sirens wailing. Baekhyun hasn’t gotten a single idea how me managed to stay in one piece the night it all went down. 

  
  


He stops, but not voluntarily. He’s still on two feet, but his knees are shaking and his breath is a little heavy. Kyungsoo has a grip on his wrist and when Baekhyun can finally look down without feeling too disoriented he sees his own, tightly closed fist.

 

Kyungsoo looks from Baekhyun’s fist, to his own hand, then up to Baekhyun, and quietly says, “Open it.”

Baekhyun repeats. Looking at his fist, then to Kyungsoo and responding silently with a blank stare. Maybe if he doesn’t look at it, it won’t hurt as much. Now that he’s starting to come back he’s starting to feel the pain and really regrets being so bold. Something so simple shouldn’t be so hard for him. He keeps getting all these flashbacks and for what reason? He’s just trying to manifest whatever it is that’s so insanely terrifying and he can’t even look at it? His own creation? 

 

He uncurls his fingers, not even having the guts to look down and instead letting the burning feeling and Kyungsoo’s face explain itself. Though Kyungsoo doesn’t show much of a reaction. His brows press together for a split second and then relax, and he huffs softly. 

 

“Yeah, it’s time to leave.”

 

He looks back up to Baekhyun, blinks, and finally lets go of his wrist. 

 

They walk back to the car in silence. Baekhyun too tired to say anything and Kyungsoo seeming comfortable in the silence, not showing any signs of being uncomfortable or awkward. The drive home is relatively the same, the heater and soft sound of the radio are the only other sounds that fill the silence as Baekhyun tries his absolute hardest to stay awake.The burning on his palm is the only thing that really makes his eyes stay open, and for that he’s almost grateful, in any other case he’s be passed out in the passenger seat of the car of someone he barely knows. Even for him that’s be a little embarrassing. 

 

“I don’t know if this is weird, or mean, but what’d you say your major was again?”

 

Baekhyun appreciates the attempt at conversation, but he really doesn’t want to answer. 

 

“Graphic design.” He says quietly. His throat is so dry he doesn’t think he could speak even if he wanted to. 

 

“That’s right,” Kyungsoo hums, “So you like… Drawing and stuff huh?”

 

Baekhyun nods. It kind of feels like he’s lying in some weird fucked up sort of way. He hasn’t picked up a sketchbook or pencil  in over a month. His shitty drawing tablet that he still swore by after so many years of wear is (or was) tucked under his bed and collecting dust. Sure, he has a few materials on standby in his backpack, but there’s no way he has the energy to even look at it considering the trauma he’s faced in the last 24 hours alone. 

 

Hearing the words ‘graphic design’ falling out of his own mouth felt a little disgusting. It was never really his thing to sit at a computer all day and draw logos, it’s not his personality. But then again, he needed something better than accounting and playing video games as a living doesn’t really do any good unless he managed to get really lucky with being loud and obnoxious. 

 

  
That’s not to say Baekhyun hates drawing. Baekhyun likes drawing. Loves it, in fact. It’s always been his outlet to his everso loud and constantly envisioning mind. He always liked designing and making characters and giving them cool little details and making them fight giant monsters or huge jacked villains. He likes drawing his favorite video game characters and the idols he sees on TV. It’s something that became apart of him, something he could spend hours doing because he genuinely likes it. He just put his talent to the wrong use. 

 

Drawing, in some crazy way, is part of the reason he was able to finally understand that he liked guys. Baekhyun has never really had a real relationship. At the time he was just a highschool kid with a lot of crushes, and a lot of hormones. Baekhyun blamed it all on that first, just the stages of growing up and maturing and finding his way into the world, but somehow they lingered even after he graduated. The attraction and crushes that weren’t just hormones or the countless amounts of shirtless ripped dudes in his notebooks. It helped him discover a major piece of himself, it helped him explore and clear his mind and come to terms with it all until he gained the courage to talk about it with his family.

  
Chanyeol was the first to know. He might as well be considered family, Baekhyun figured it was the best way to test the waters before jumping in headfirst. He remembers telling him and expecting to lose his best friend, and instead got taken into a massive, bone crushing bear hug that left him sore for a few days. 

 

Of course creativity is a big part of his life. He just never expected to take it down the path he did, and now he feels like he’s in kind of a weird space of questioning if this is really what he wants or if there’s more to it. 

  
  


Kyungsoo is silent the rest of the way back to his place. He doesn’t push anything, he just hums quietly to songs on the radio. Baekhyun feels him steal glances every so often but doesn’t bother to acknowledge it. Baekhyun still can’t wrap his head around why Kyungsoo, still no more than just a stranger is bothering to go to so many efforts for him. He’s a wanted criminal, he’s absolutely useless and provides in no way, any sort of benefit to Kyungsoo, or his poor roommates. All of the males explanations haven’t been the slightest bit convincing to Baekhyun and he knows Kyungsoo can tell. He keeps trying to explain himself but Baekhyun can’t help but to feel the guilt push down harder. No amount of trying to defend him will work, Baekhyun can feel that he’s unwanted here. 

 

He knows he has a lot to explain to Kyungsoo. If anything the man deserves a little bit of insight, there’s no telling how uncomfortable the ladder is by being the one bringing a stranger into his home asking little to no questions. Baekhyun has a lot to say to him. 

 

“You hungry?”

 

Baekhyun pushes himself away from the window, looking back at Kyungsoo in question for a brief second before turning away and finally realizing that they’re sitting in the parking garage of his apartment. 

 

“I asked if you were hungry.”

 

Baekhyun shakes his head, no second thought necessary after hearing the question repeated. The mere thought of food sounds absolutely disgusting, even if he were starving he doesn’t think he could keep anything down, there’s too much going through his mind to even think anymore about eating. 

 

Kyungsoo sighs, unbuckling his seatbelt, “No matter,” He says, “I’ll leave some extra just in case you change your mind. Let’s patch up your hand first.”

 

Baekhyun follows suit, or at least tries to with only one hand. The initial pain subsided only some, it still hurts and stings with every faint twitch of his fingers. He doesn’t stop staring at it once they step on the elevator. Wasn’t this supposed to heal on its own? Isn’t that something he can do? Maybe if he concentrates hard enough it’ll go away. 

 

“What are you doing?”

 

Baekhyun looks up, looking between Kyungsoo’s face of confusion and judgment, to his hand which still looks the same since they left. 

 

“Ah, it’s not healing right?”

 

Baekhyun nods, eyes focused heavily on his wounded hand. 

 

“It’s because it’s self inflicted. Like the lichtenberg marks, you overdid it. It’ll be gone within the next few days though, which is still really fast. Your body is still adjusting to a lot of sudden changes, certain wounds won’t always heal overnight like that gunshot did.”

 

Baekhyun nods again, more slowly this time, eyes still focused on the pink and red blister that covers his hand. He really hopes this won’t scar, he kind of needs his hand. 

 

His attention is finally caught when the doors of the elevator slide open, Kyungsoo stepping out, Baekhyun following with slow, shuffled steps. Turning around sounds fantastic now. Going inside and being faced with more strangers that don’t like him is his worst nightmare. 

 

Kyungsoo stops in front of a door, E-408, and begins fumbling around his coat pocket for his keys. He only turns the deadbolt and stops, head turning to Baekhyun in question.

 

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

 

He waits, studies Baekhyun’s expression for a moment, watching the way his eyes flicker between the door and his eyes. 

 

“Listen if it’s Jongin and Minseok you’re worried about, it’s okay. They get that you’re a little freaked out but they don’t hate you or anything. Now come in, before someone catches you.” Kyungsoo turns the doorknob and opens the door, ushering Baekhyun inside first and following suit. 

 

Baekhyun tries to be soundless when he takes off his shoes and his coat, but Kyungsoo doesn’t so much get the idea, his voice bouncing through the apartment when he bellows a loud ‘I’m home’. 

 

As if on cue, two tired eyes and a mess of hair poke up from behind the couch, falling on Kyungsoo for a second before they fall onto Baekhyun and stay there for a good five seconds before falling down and disappearing again. 

 

“You remember Jongin.” 

 

Again, two eyes emerge from over the top of the couch. Different ones this time, they stare between the two before turning into crescents and a full body stands up.

 

“And Minseok-hyung.”

 

Kyungsoo walks into further into the apartment, leaving Baekhyun to stand silently and wide-eyed in the doorway. He knows that’s his que to follow but he feels like moving will just cause trouble. 

 

The two share a short conversation, Minseok’s eyes meeting Baekhyun’s every now and then. Baekhyun wants to run and hide, but he has no idea which room is his and would rather not risk embarrassing himself even more than he has already. 

 

“Baekhyun you can come in, you know.” Minseok chuckles, waving his arm in attempt to user Baekhyun further inside the apartment. He has no reason to act like this. If this was any other situation he wouldn’t have even thought twice and probably would have been best friends with Minseok about five minutes ago. He remains glued in his place, only blinking cluelessly and watches as Kyungsoo says something else to Minseok, whose smile falls into pity. His eyes flicker back between Kyungsoo, who turns around and makes his way back to Baekhyun. 

 

“Come on, I promised we’d fix your hand.”

 

Baekhyun waits for him to make the first move and turn his back before he trails behind closely, trying to ignore the feeling of eyes on him as the two walk across the room and towards the short hallway, where he quickly disappears inside a bathroom, flicking on the light and beckoning Baekhyun inside. 

 

“That’s your room now, by the way.” He starts, pointing at a door across the hallway.

 

Now? 

 

“It used to be Jongin’s but after him and Minseok got together he never leaves their room anymore.” 

 

That explains one part. But the ‘now’ is what really hits Baekhyun harder than it should. 

 

Kyungsoo makes it sound like it’ll be a while that Baekhyun will be staying with them… 

 

“Now, sit, lemme see your hand.” Kyungsoo is quick to put a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder and sit him down on the toilet seat where he takes Baekhyun’s wrist and pulls it up into the light. 

 

“Since your body will be doing most of the work on healing, we’re just gonna rinse it and bandage it, okay?”

 

Baekhyun nods and watches as Kyungsoo carefully drops his hand and turns on the faucet, “Just hold it under some cold water for a minute.” he adds, opening the cabinet under the sink. Baekhyun watches the male dig around while he gathers the courage to stick his hand under the running water, wincing when he finally does so and feeling the sting rush through his hand and making his eyes squeeze shut tightly. Kyungsoo quickly returns with a small medkit which Baekhyun watches him dig through some more with a clenched jaw until he pulls out a roll of gauze, some antiseptic, and some cotton pads, all which make Baekhyun’s stomach churn.

 

“This is gonna hurt like hell.” Kyungsoo mutters, standing up and turning off the faucet, and placing the items on the edge of the counter. He looks at Baekhyun in question, “You ready?”

 

Baekhyun swallows and nods. He knows full well he has to do this no matter how much he absolutely despises it. Kyungsoo hums in confirmation and pops the bottle open, taking Baekhyun’s hand gently again and holding it over the sink. Reflexively, Baekhyun takes a mouthful of the neck of the t-shirt he’s wearing, bracing himself as Kyungsoo holds the bottle over his hand and, 

 

“ _ Fuck _ ! Ow, fuckfuckfuck.”

 

Baekhyun swears come out muffled through his shirt and his knees bounce up and down furiously as the stuff covers his hand, sending more pain jolting through his hand and up his arm. He winces again, eyes squeezing shut and feels Kyungsoo press gently around his hand with a cotton pad before letting go of his briefly and returning. 

 

Baekhyun clenches his jaw tighter, opening his eyes and watching Kyungsoo, without a single disturbed look, begin wrapping his hand up. It kind of throws Baekhyun off, maybe because he’s spent too much time with Chanyeol and is used to him going absolutely nuts when something so minor like this happens. An even more disturbing thought is maybe that Kyungsoo is just… Used to this sort of thing being a Cambion. 

 

“There,” He says, “All done.” 

 

Baekhyun blinks, retracting his arm and examining the bandages wrapped cleanly around his hand. 

 

“The bullet wound was smaller and had less impact. Like I said, this is self inflicted so it may take a day or so longer. But you’ll be okay.” He says, pausing and then speaking up again, lowering his voice a little more, “You… Did a good job today. I know you couldn’t see it but… I could.” 

  
  
  


Baekhyun sighs, nodding in response, unsure if he should move or stay planted where he is. The two of them sit a heavy silence for a few seconds until Kyungsoo clears his throat, breaking the tension and clearing the leftover supplies from the counter. 

 

“You’re probably tired. You should get some rest and I’ll clear this up. Sure you’re not hungry?”

 

Baekhyun nods, hesitating for a moment before he stands up slowly from his place, watching Kyungsoo put everything back inside the med kit before he turns his back and hurries across the hall, quietly opening his door, and closing it the same. 

 

His hand stays planted on the knob for a minute, his forehead pressed against the wood. His hand still throbs and stings next to his side as he breathes slowly, trying to gain some kind of composure over himself now that he’s left to himself in dreaded silence. Despite how much he truly hated the idea of everything that took up their morning, it was better than being in here. Baekhyun, even in this state, still hates the silence. Still hates being alone. 

 

At least the pain in his hand makes him remember he’s still able to feel physical pain, he has no idea how much more his mental and emotional health can take anymore. 

 

He swallows down the swell in his throat, pushes himself off the door, and walks toward the window that sits near the bed. The bedroom is fairly small, so everything is pretty close together. 

 

Baekhyun lets his fingers trace over the soft fabric of the curtain before he pulls is open and looks at the city outside. Somewhere out there, is Kim Junmyeon and Sehun, flashing their badges and asking about Baekhyun. Somewhere is Chanyeol, probably worried sick, and Jongdae might be with him, trying his hardest to be some kind of relief. Somewhere Baekhyun’s face is flashing across a screen. Somewhere out there is Baekhyun’s apartment, empty or still full of his life. 

 

Somewhere, Baekhyun has been forgotten. 

  
  


Somewhere, Baekhyun is just a memory.

 

 

 

**End of Chapter 9**

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to yell at me just go to my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/shuaversum) and I'll agree with you. or maybe we can talk about the comeback, up to you.   
> I'll be back v soon. 
> 
> Also, for anyone waiting on insidious retribution, please anticipate, I have lots of ideas for that in the works. It's a more tedious fic.!
> 
> also how about that pleasant xiukai at the beginning.


	10. Final Words

 

Chapter 10

 

 

  


Baekhyun made a mental note to shower, and didn’t.

  


He made a lot of mental notes laying in bed and passing time by sleeping instead.

 

  
For an entire week, Baekhyun tried to disappear.

  


In that week, his hand healed too. But he didn’t try to practice manifesting anything like Kyungsoo suggested. He only stared at his freshly healed hand and fell asleep after sometime.

  


For an entire week, Baekhyun tried to forget.

  


For the third night in a row, Baekhyun sits up in a cold sweat, woken up from yet another nightmare. His head feels like it’s about roll off his shoulders, he can only keep down water, everything feels like it’s spinning all the time and he doesn’t have the energy to even cry anymore. He’s spent a lot of time crying alone in his tiny room the past week. All of the things that have built up over the past two weeks have finally come to punch him in the stomach and it’s all he can think about. He sees his mother when he sleeps, he hears her when he’s dry heaving over the toilet, it’s been a week that’s felt like a lifetime.

 

Kyungsoo has checked up on him frequently, Minseok too. But mostly Kyungsoo. He’s tried desperately to get Baekhyun to eat, only to get a head turn in response. The only time he’s gotten Baekhyun to actually move has been when he gets him to sit up and drink water.

 

Baekhyun blinks, taking his surroundings. He’s left the curtain to his window open so the streetlight will be casted inside and give him some sort of sanity when he wakes up from these hellish nightmares. He takes the back of his hand across his forehead, wiping away at the sweat thats gathered and slumps back on his elbows. He’s surprised he hasn’t knocked out any lights since he’s been here, since usually that’s what happens.

 

Baekhyun stays like that for a few more minutes, trying to get the nausea to subside before he slowly gets out of bed and shuffles to the bathroom, trying his best to stay quiet and not make a sound. When he opens his door though, his eyes shut and blink a few times from the glow that’s being casted into the hallway from the kitchen. He hears the faint exchange of voices, peeks his head around the corner, hoping he isn’t seen, and eyes the figures in the kitchen.

 

Jongin is sitting on the counter, his legs swinging back and forth with a glass in his hand, and Kyungsoo his slumped next to him.

 

“C’mon, Soo, even you said it was a bad idea to have him here the day we found him.”

 

“What? How did you-”

 

“I walked in as soon as you said it. Don’t act like I didn’t notice you guys trying to play it off. I hear everything.” Jongin pauses, his legs stop swinging for a split second before they pick back up in a slow rhythm again.

  
“Besides, he’s totally clueless, Hyung. What’s gonna happen if he slips and gets us all caught?”

 

There’s another pause, it’s quiet through the entire apartment as Baekhyun listens closely to the conversation in the kitchen.

 

“I know,” Kyungsoo hums lowly, “I just… After everything he’s been through already… He needs… Someone.”

 

“He’s a total stranger, hyung.”

 

“Kinda.”

  


Baekhyun sinks back behind the corner and back to his room, completely forgetting everything else he was about to do.

 

Kyungsoo, the same person who has dedicated his time and energy into helping Baekhyun, doesn’t even want him here. If that doesn’t say enough about Baekhyun being the recipe for total disaster and absolute chaos, he doesn’t know what else does anymore. Kyungsoo is only doing this because he feels bad for him… He doesn’t really care. He never did.

 

Now he really has to leave.

 

He still has some money, he could get a hotel somewhere, maybe. Going to a bank may lead to other problems though… Going anywhere will lead to bigger problems. Baekhyun keeps forgetting that his face is all over the city, leaving isn’t really as easy as it sounds. He’s caught investigators sulking up and down the sidewalks countless times since he’s been here, he’s dead if he goes out.

 

He wants to rip his hair out, all of this is just piling up and Baekhyun can’t take it anymore. His mom is gone, actually, truly gone, Chanyeol might be next, and now fucking Kyungsoo, the person he’s barely held a conversation with in a month, the one person he thought had a genuine motive, doesn’t even care if he lives or dies.

  


This is all so unbelievable.

  


There’s a knock at his door. Followed by a quiet, “Baekhyun?”

 

He wants to open it, give Kyungsoo another mouthful, maybe a fistful if he had the energy. Call him everything he can think of and let him have it, but instead he sits on the edge of the bed, his fingers curling tightly into the sheets and he hears the knocking being a little more aggressive.

 

“Hey, I’m coming in, okay?”

 

The door opens, Baekhyun’s jaw tightens.

  


“The lightbulbs in the kitchen are going crazy. What’s- Hey…”

  


It’s silent for a few seconds, then he hears the door close softly. Perfect, now no one will have to hear him blow up on Kyungsoo again.

 

But he doesn’t. In fact, he has the opposite reaction than what he initially expected. Instead of swearing and yelling, and voicing out all of his anger on Kyungsoo, Baekhyun laughs. A few, light and airy chuckles fall out from his lips and heavily into the room.

 

“Baekhyun…”  


“I almost trusted you.” Baekhyun smiles painfully, keeping his back turned, his fingers clenched tightly in the sheets.

 

“What?”

 

“I heard you and Jongin just a minute ago. He knew I was standing there, didn’t he? He wanted me to hear it all. To hear how scared you all are of me being here.” Baekhyun pauses, trying desperately to keep his voice stable, he swallows, “You could have just told me instead of wasting your time.” He finishes, smile fading, “I get it.”

 

Baekhyun hears Kyungsoo swear under his breath and shuffle behind him, “I… Yeah… I was, _am_ … Pretty paranoid about holding you here. All three of us have been down this road before though and it’s not a fun sight to watch someone of your own kind get shot in the head...”

 

“Compared to the how many who have?” Baekhyun mutters, “You heard Jongin, I’m just some clueless idiot who can’t even come to terms with their own identity. How am I supposed to harness a full on force?”

 

Kyungsoo is quiet, Baekhyun almost thought he had had enough and left Baekhyun to wither and complain until he hears him sigh from behind him.

 

“ _You’re_ the one who came to _me_ for help.” He mumbles.

 

“When you could have easily said no.” Baekhyun chuckles, “Be honest, what are you gaining from this? Why did you even agree to this when it’s clear you don’t want to? You said yourself that you tried to get Jongin to turn around that night. Whose side are you on?”

 

Kyungsoo groans, and goes silent again. “You’re right,” He starts, low voice ringing almost loudly through the room even though it’s soft as always, “I didn’t want to help you. I could have listened to you plead for your life all night. I could have tried harder to convince Jongin to turn around, or stayed a few extra minutes at the library. I could have stood there and watch the same guy who has ruined countless lives pull the trigger on you… And instead here we are. I can ask myself why all night and never know the answer. You can ask why you didn’t just ignore me after that day you left and move forward…”

 

“We’ll never really have an answer, Baekhyun.” Kyungsoo sighs, shuffles around again, then keeps going. “Take it as it is and accept that you’re here, accept that _we’re_ trying to help you, and that you’re going to learn this life no matter how much you, or the rest of us hates it.”  

 

Maybe he makes a pretty good point, but that won’t stop Baekhyun from constantly feeling the weight of being a burden these people place on his shoulders. He should’ve known from day one that this was all off.

 

There’s a few footsteps, a small pause, then the door opens, but it doesn’t close. For a moment Baekhyun almost wants to stop Kyungsoo, keep him right where he is and tell him whatever the first thing that comes to mind is just to have the company, but he just waits for what he’s about to say.

  


“You should get some sleep… I uhm… I invited Chanyeol over tomorrow… You need to see him.”

  


Baekhyun almost feels his heart jump out of his throat when he heard the words fall into his ears and when he hears the door finally click shut his shoulders sink down and he lets out a breath.

 

He hasn’t seen Chanyeol in… weeks? Almost over a month, maybe? Baekhyun had almost forgotten the reason he was even in this room right now was partly because Chanyeol and Kyungsoo have a connection through school. If it wasn’t for him, there’s no telling what situation Baekhyun would be in right now, and quite frankly, he doesn’t want to think about it after the talk he and Kyungsoo just had.

 

This is motivation, at least. Or some. Baekhyun is very sure he looks like he’s just come back from the grave. He’s in desperate need of a shower, a change of clothes, and some food. Chanyeol has only ever seen him like if he was sick, which even then is incredibly rare. Baekhyun has never had a reason to look so awful, even when he’s sick, he always makes an effort to look somewhat presentable.

 

His fingers scratch nervously at his head as he looks over himself. The clothes Baekhyun is wearing are the only clothes he has. Everything else is at his apartment, which has most likely been torn apart and down countless times by investigators. There’s no telling if there’s anything left in there, it’s all probably been thrown out by now. Going back isn’t even an option, they probably have the place blocked off and on lockdown, there’s really no telling at this point.

  


What’s Chanyeol going to think of him? Baekhyun looks like a wreck, hasn’t slept properly in weeks, and hasn’t spoken to Chanyeol in what feels like a lifetime. For all Baekhyun knows Chanyeol probably doesn’t even want to see his face. After their last encounter, Baekhyun felt like Chanyeol was one more person he’d lost on his ever growing list of many. Chanyeol looked hurt, crushed, disappointed, even a little pissed. He had every right to, and he still does. Baekhyun has no idea what he’s even supposed to say to him. Poor Jongdae has probably been playing mediator these past few weeks for the both of them now that Baekhyun has lost his only form of contact and left Chanyeol on a pretty sour note.

 

There’s a lot to tell him but yet it all feels so painful to do. Even thinking about it hurts.

 

Baekhyun sighs, pulling himself back up onto the bed and collapsing into his pillow. Getting sleep is easier said than done, and now that he knows what there is to expect tomorrow, sleep is the last thing on his mind.

 

And it was. Baekhyun ended up laying flat on his back staring into a black ceiling until his eyes were sore. He paced back and forth muttering uselessly to himself until he was dizzy and finally resorted to looking at the city outside his window until the sun peeked over the buildings.

 

There was a lot of unnecessary anticipation building inside him as he sat on the edge of his bed with his knees bouncing up and down. It wasn’t like he was being interrogated. It was his best friend for crying out loud, the one person he should be grateful to see after the shit he’s been having to push through for the past few weeks.

 

Baekhyun falls back onto the bed, arms spread out, knees still bouncing nervously. It’s Chanyeol. Just Chanyeol. Maybe he should focus more on that rather than what there is to talk about. It’s his best friend. The one person who’s always been there, and hopefully will continue to be.

  


There’s a couple of knocks at his door, then it opens. Baekhyun tilts his head up just enough to see Kyungsoo sticking his head in.

 

“Oh, you’re awake.”

 

His eyes fall around the room, then to Baekhyun again.

 

“You didn’t sleep did you?” He asks.

 

“Would it make you feel better if I lied?”

 

Kyungsoo doesn’t respond and instead opens the door wider, revealing a towel and what Baekhyun secretly hopes is a change of clothes.

 

“I figured… Because you and Minseok-hyung are about the same size that he wouldn’t mind if I raided his closet just once. You don’t seem to have any other clothes either.” Kyungsoo tosses the towel and the clothes on the open space of bed next to Baekhyun and rests his hand on the doorknob, “Please go take a shower. You look and smell awful.”

 

At least he’s honest.

 

“ ‘Meet you in the living room when your done.” And that’s all Kyungsoo says before he shuts the door and leaves Baekhyun to ponder for a minute before sitting up and inspecting the clothes.

 

Besides the towel, Kyungsoo had lended him some plain black jeans, no different to the ones he’s been wearing, a gray hoodie, and a plain pair of boxers.

 

Baekhyun doesn’t even think about it anymore. He rolls himself off the bed and gathers up the pile of actually clean clothes, and makes another silent trip to the bathroom.

 

He tries to avoid the mirror at all costs. Baekhyun doesn’t want to see how truly awful he looks, but as soon as he catches himself while trying to slip his jeans off he doesn’t stop staring.

 

His eyes are heavy, his hair is strewn all over the place, a greasy, disheveled, overgrown mess of black and red. He’s definitely lost some weight, his face looks slimmer than he last remembered, and it makes sense when all he’s been drinking is water for almost over a week straight.

 

The shower was definitely needed. The feeling of hot water and scented soap felt like something so distant. He hadn’t even considered the severity of the state he’s been in recently, he can’t imagine the trouble he’s put the others through, Kyungsoo especially.

  


Baekhyun takes another small look at himself in the foggy mirror when he’s done. From the few seconds he catches himself, he looks only slightly better. Just a cleaner version of what he was before.

 

When he has himself looking slightly presentable, he slips back to his room to discard his old clothes and towel, slips on some socks, and braces himself before making his way into the living room.

 

The first thing he sees is Kyungsoo buttoning up a black vest and straightening a black bow tie around his neck. He’s dressed up, strange considering it’s only afternoon. Baekhyun doesn’t even know what day it is anymore, he’s really lost his mind.

 

“Oh, you’re done already?” Kyungsoo pauses straightening the tie to glance at Baekhyun curiously from across the room.

 

Baekhyun nods and shifts awkwardly, finding himself unsure of what else to do again.

 

“Minseok-hyung is waiting in the kitchen. I'll be back this evening. Oh, and tell Chanyeol I said hi.” With that, Kyungsoo slips his coat and shoes on, and is out the door before Baekhyun can even respond properly.

 

Baekhyun sighs and hesitantly makes his way toward the kitchen, where Minseok is leaned up against the counter. A coffee cup in one hand, his phone in the other. Baekhyun clears his throat when he enters just to grab the other man’s attention after standing in the doorway for a few seconds too long. Minseok looks up, eyes wide first, then curved up into a welcoming smile.

 

“They fit!” He smiles. Baekhyun feels half asleep after his shower, it takes him a quick glance at himself to realize what he meant and he nods, “You don’t… Mind?”

 

Minseok shakes his head, takes a sip of what Baekhyun suspects is coffee by the smell. “Not at all,” he starts, “You don’t seem to have anything else but what was on your back. I wanted you to look a little more alive when your friend got here.”

 

Baekhyun hums and genuinely thanks Minseok, who returns it with another warm smile.

 

“Oh, coffee?” The other asks, putting his phone and cup on top of the counter and reaches up into the cabinet, pulling a glass mug down.

 

Baekhyun hesitates. The guy offered, maybe he should just say yes. But he hates coffee. Like, he really hates it. It’s only something he went to after pulling all-nighters on presentations and needed the boost so he wouldn’t stumble over his own words in front of his classmates.

 

“I won’t be offended if you say no.” Minseok chuckles,“Jongin hates it too. Won’t drink it for the life of him.” Minseok reaches back up, puts the cup away, and resets back into his original position, but with his phone left abandoned on the counter. He motions for Baekhyun to come into the room further, which he does. Baekhyun takes up the same position against a counter adjacent to where Minseok is standing.

 

“So,” He starts, “If you don’t mind me asking… What was your occupation before all this started?”

 

“I was a waiter.” Baekhyun says a little too confidently. “I worked at a restaurant not too far from here, actually.”

 

Minseok nods in acknowledgement, taking another slow sip of coffee. “Kyungsoo works at a movie theater, and Jongin at some high end clothing store in the mall.”

 

“Movie theater,” Baekhyun mumbles, “Fitting.”

 

That got a chuckle out of Minseok, to his sheer surprise. Baekhyun is suddenly feeling a little more bold than before, and finds himself not wanting to hold back as much on questions. It’s comfortable, but he still feels like Minseok is just trying to bring more into the picture. “What about you?” Baekhyun asks, slipping his hands into the pockets of jeans.

 

“Oh! I’m a lab assistant at a children’s hospital. I work in a cambion focused building. I’m finishing my degree in biotech right now to be a physician.”

 

Baekhyun suddenly feels his confidence plummet, and hopes desperately that Minseok won’t ask what his major is… Or was.

 

But he does, and Baekhyun looks at him as if he had no idea what he was talking about but replies with a very embarrassed, very soft, “Graphic design…”

 

“No need to be shy,” Minseok chuckles, “Besides, it’s not like you’re stuck with it.”

 

True, but Baekhyun is kind of in a situation where walking outside is literally impossible unless he wants to die that bad. He’ll worry about that later, if he isn’t kicked out of Uni and isn’t dead by then, a change in majors might be worth it.  He almost felt like he was going to die with the amount of tasks needed to complete his final for that one class alone. Baekhyun never thought a logo would make him want to die up until a few weeks ago.

  


The two stand in silence for a while. Minseok taps lightly on the mug in his hands, the soft glass pinging through the small space is the only thing that takes up the shared silence. Minseok looks really deep in thought, his brows are pressed together as he stares down at the floor while Baekhyun stares at every other little detail of the kitchen around him.

 

“I actually needed to talk to you… if you don’t mind. I kinda owe you an explanation.” Minseok says suddenly, breaking Baekhyun out of his useless trance in staring at the wood grain on the cabinets. Baekhyun was right after all, Minseok was just trying to lead into something else but Baekhyun didn’t expect Minseok to have to provide him an explanation along with it.

 

“Kyungsoo told me about the talk you guys had last night… I don’t want you to blame him or Jongin for being a little apprehensive about you being here…” Minseok pauses for a split second, glancing up at Baekhyun whose heart suddenly feels like a million pounds sitting in his chest. He probably looks terrified in Minseok’s eyes right now. There’s no telling what direction this is gonna take and Baekhyun almost wants to turn around just so he won’t have to hear it.

“Truth be told, I was the one who convinced them to let you stay. I totally understand the severity of the situation, but I couldn’t shake the thought letting you walk away and then seeing you end up on the news somewhere getting taken in or… Ending up dead.” He breathes. His eyes never leaves Baekhyun’s and for a split second Baekhyun feels something in his chest crash and boom.

 

“Besides,” Minseok starts, “It’s not easy to just _find_ a cambion to help you. Especially in a rare late stage like yours. You didn’t get the same luxury as growing up in a family who you trusted and who taught you. Seeing you struggle as much as you have in such a short time is kinda what did it for me. If I was in your position I’d be absolutely terrified too.”

 

The pause Minseok takes this time is a lot longer. He takes another sip from his cup but stays quiet before he finally continues.

 

“Being alone in a world like this, is one of the most terrifying things to experience and I can safely say that every single one of us in this shoebox sized apartment can relate to some degree.” Minseok finally bring his gaze up to meet Baekhyun’s. Nothing but sincerity swims in Minseok’s eyes,  “I want you to feel safe here, Baekhyun, but more importantly I want you to not be so afraid. You have a good character. I can tell just by looking at you that you have a lot of charisma, and you definitely haven’t meant half of the trouble you’ve caused. You just need a push in the right direction, that’s all.”

 

If Baekhyun had anymore tears left to cry, he would have been a full monsoon by now. Minseok is actually reassuring him that yeah, he’s fucked up, but did he mean it? Never.

 

It was he really needed to hear. Anyone could tell that Baekhyun isn’t a violent person, but the CRI has made him out as one in just a month. Already Baekhyun has started to feel less like himself and more like a stranger. Hearing Minseok’s words made him feel a little less like a trapped animal and a little more like himself.

 

Baekhyun doesn’t want to give anyone a hard time, that was never the intention. He’s gone his entire youth living an absolute lie all because his parents were too afraid of the outcome if he knew. Baekhyun doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life on the CRI’s kill list, but he can’t necessarily go back to living the same boring life he was used to. This whole new identity has totally screwed his life up, and even though he still isn’t sure where it will take him, he’s since accepted that it’s a part of him. After his and Kyungsoo’s outing a week ago, he’s felt a little bit less intimidated by the label.

  


Minseok pushes himself off the counter, downing what’s left in the mug and puts it inside the dishwasher, “I’m gonna go get Jongin up. We have a few errands to run and I don’t want us to be in the way when your friend arrives. Will you be alright?”

 

Baekhyun nods, trying to push the last of what he wants to say off his tongue before he regrets it. “Thank you… I kinda needed that.”

 

Minseok smiles again, giving Baekhyun a few light pats on his shoulder.

 

“Anytime. I’m sorry for not telling you sooner, I wanted you to have time to yourself.” Minseok’s hand falls from Baekhyun’s shoulder as he moves to retrieve his phone from its place on the counter and turns back to Baekhyun with a playful smirk, “Oh, and speaking of Jongin, don’t worry about him. He sounds tough, but between us…” Minseok glances to the doorway of the kitchen then back to Baekhyun, and leans in a little closer, “He’s a big baby.”

 

With that, he turns around and makes his way out of the kitchen, leaving Baekhyun in a thoughtful silence. Baekhyun never really thought Jongin was intimidating, after all the guy pretty much appeared out of thin air just to beg Baekhyun for a “thank you”. Added onto everything he overheard last night, Jongin didn’t, and still doesn’t seem too enthusiastic about Baekhyun overall, and that’s what puts Baekhyun on edge.

 

Maybe Baekhyun shouldn’t judge just by one mere encounter, though. If anyone knows what they’re talking about it’s Minseok, so far Baekhyun doesn’t doubt his judgement.

 

  
  


✧    ✦    ✧

 

  
  
  


“Junmyeon,”

 

“Junmyeonnie-hyung.”

 

Junmyeon groans, swats away blindly at whoever is speaking, but it’s no use and they keep talking.

 

“Hyung wake up, the autopsy report is in.”

 

Junmyeon groans again.

 

“About Baek- The variant case… ”

 

Junmyeon finally sits up, stretching his arms out and blinking the harshness of the light away. He must have dozed off at his desk. Sehun stands awkwardly across from him, an orange envelope in hand.

 

“What’d they say?” He mumbles, watching Sehun pull the contents from the package. It took long enough. It’s been well over a week and Junmyeon has been very eager to know what’s going on, who they’re dealing with.

 

“She’s… ” He starts his sentence but doesn’t finish it and only stares at Junmyeon blankly, sliding the papers across the glossy finish of the desk. Junmyeon stares at them without touching for a moment, then slowly reaches out and flips through.

 

He almost chokes as he reads through the results. This is groundbreaking, and it’s proving his point further. His eyes trace along the pages of the victim’s included medical records, along with someone else’s. Someone Junmyeon didn’t recognize.

 

Sehun seems to pick up Junmyeon’s confusion and quickly speaks up, “I also requested the fathers medical records as well. He was a Cambion too, but he died like… Almost nine or ten years ago.”

 

Junmyeon nods, “So they never told the kid?”

 

Sehun shrugs, “Apparently not.”

 

“All the more reason my point is proven.”

 

“You don’t feel the slightest bit of remorse for doing this? None?” Sehun questions, concern in every spoken syllable.

 

“You can’t stop from raising a variant. Especially when both the parents are Cambions. This is someone who is now in full realization of the capabilities they have and will very likely take advantage of them. So no, not really.” Junmyeon blinks, gathering the papers together to put back into the folder.

 

Sehun rolls his eyes and falls back into one of the chairs sitting across from Junmyeon’s desk, resting his head in the palm of his hand.

 

After their meeting with the police in the last place  Baekhyun had been seen, there was another reported Cambion on sight. It makes sense considering Baekhyun has no obvious control over his power enough to send a man into temporary shock, not to mention, he doesn’t seem like he posses electrical capabilities.

 

“Hyung can I ask you an honest question?” Sehun asks, keeping his eyes fixed on the window rather than on Junmyeon, who doesn’t bother to look up from a few stray papers to Sehun either. They tend to do this a lot.

 

Junmyeon hums and he hears Sehun sigh, which causes him to look up at the younger who looks like he’s reconsidering, but he goes for it anyways, “How… Why do you suspect Baekhyun is a variant instead of just a troubled late bloomer? Tell me for real, no bias, just straight facts. I wanna know. I mean, you’ve studied them for forever, right?”

 

Junmyeon lets out a sigh and sits back in his chair, folding his hands over his abdomen, “They have a very complex biology, Sehun. Their DNA is all very complicated as opposed to humans, but just like us, there can sometimes be flaws in those strands and chromosomes.”

 

“Similar to how some humans with down syndrome, autism, or schizophrenia, things caused due to a chromosome abnormality, variants have the same. Strands in their DNA and genetic structure sometimes become flawed through many years, but it’s usually most apparent in individuals with two cambion parents.”

 

Sehun’s eyes grow as he listens and Junmyeon thinks he’s about to turn to dust in the chair across from him based on the bewildered look on his face. Junmyeon is probably laying down too much information for the boy to handle all at once, but he needs to know it.

 

“When there’s so much of two totally different kinds of DNA being making up one body, there’s going to be a lot of sudden changes. It explains why he might have never showed demonic signs in his childhood or complications even during puberty, where they’re commonly seen. It was his human DNA just doing what it was supposed to until now. His Cambion side must be trying to take over at this point and that’s where the problem lies. Whether he got mugged or not, it was still time for those precursors and Cambion behaviors to start showing eventually.”

 

“So what you’re saying is… A demonic side is going to take over no matter what? How does that even happen?”

 

“Like I said, their biology is complicated. Especially if the parents are both demons. The DNA of a Cambion is, always has been, far superior to a human’s. Regeneration, physical abilities, life span, everything is far above any human and when there’s double that DNA in a single person, it tends to become quite overbearing. With so many powerful qualities in one body, there’s not a lot human DNA can do.”

 

It’s silent for a few minutes. Junmyeon had almost fallen asleep again while looking over the papers if Sehun hadn’t spoken again.

“So what about the possibility of an external force in the general population?” He asks, “Are you saying there’s more of their own DNA being forcefully infused into Cambions and just… Making them variants? Or do you think there’s a true biological change in their genetic structure after so many years of breeding?”

 

Sehun is full of questions today. Different questions than the ones he usually asks. It’s nice.

“It’s likely. That’s why I’m researching so deep into this. If there’s a possibility this could be stopped we may be able to halt this entire breakout permanently. But if not then that’s a different story we’ll be dealing with.”

  


Sehun is too uncomfortably quiet as Junmyeon goes through his other paperwork. He’s probably thinking about all this way too in depth. It’s a shock to him as well, the fact that Baekhyun has gone his entire life without knowing such a vital part of his life existed sounds totally unbelievable. Junmyeon’s curiosity keeps growing in this case entirely. He just keeps opening up new doors that lead to absolutely nowhere and at the same time can’t help but to want to open more.

  
It’s frustrating. Sehun isn’t much help either. Why they decided to pair him up with a rookie investigator is still beyond him. This isn’t a case for someone so young, top of his class or not, that doesn’t make him any more able to handle this case as opposed to more experienced senior investigators like himself. Granted, Junmyeon and Sehun are similar in certain aspects, that doesn’t change the fact that Sehun is not in the right mindset to tackle a case this big.

 

“Y’know,” A voice says, Junmyeon looks up and hadn’t even noticed Sehun had taken the reports from off his desk. He flips through them with a studied look on his face, “Mmm, nevermind. I’m gonna go look these over some more, see if there’s anything else I can’t manage to dig up.” He says, standing up and holding the envelope up for confirmation. Junmyeon glances up, nods and doesn’t pay any further attention as Sehun leaves the room.

 

Something in his mood changed and he saw it but won’t acknowledge it further. He knows it’s got to do with the fact that this is someone he used to know, be close with, shares memories with and he’s about to go against all of it. Junmyeon gets it, he won’t interfere. He’s going to let Sehun figure this out on his own and realize that this isn’t just for the sake of the community, but the entire country, the entire world.

 

Sehun is still apprehensive, and Junmyeon is still very willing to do everything alone. Their opinions contrast way too much for them to see eye to eye on hardly anything, that said, Junmyeon is going to take matters into his own hands for the evening. If Sehun tries to jump in, it’s going to be with the absolute bare minimum of context.

 

Park Chanyeol is the very first name printed on his list of suspects for questioning.

  
  
  


 

✧    ✦    ✧

 

 

  
  


The TV was only used as white noise while Baekhyun tried to piece together the story he’s going to be facing his best friend with. Baekhyun felt like the more he was piecing things together, the more details he was leaving out, the less sense everything made. None of it sounded real when he muttered it out loud to himself. It all sounded fake, it all sounded too exaggerated, Chanyeol was never going to believe a word of what Baekhyun had to say.

  


Add that to the fact that Baekhyun has the emotional capacity of a rock and can hardly even make a conversation anymore and it’s a stunning, prime example of how he’s going to watch the last remaining color drain from his life entirely.

  


His nerves were so pent up that he kept anticipating knocks on the door and when it actually happened Baekhyun nearly jumped.

 

He looks outside the peephole in the door first, standing all the way on his toes just to get a glance. Sure enough, the figure on the other side is none other than Chanyeol. Baekhyun lets out a nervous breath as he tries to collect the last remains of his nerves and shakily unlocks the door.

 

His grip is extra tight on the door knob as he turns it, opens it slowly and is face to face with the taller.

 

Chanyeol looks almost as wrecked as he does. There’s no more to say about that. Chanyeol looks awful, it’s clear in the way he looks, and there’s no one else to blame for it than Baekhyun himself.

 

They don’t say anything for a few seconds. It drags itself out as they stand there and stare at each other and just take it all in. It hurt. It hurt from the moment Baekhyun had looked at him after he opened the door and it’s going to keep feeling like that. Baekhyun can’t bring himself to do anything, his hand is still wrapped tightly around the handle of the door, his mouth is dry, words are void inside his head. He simply stares and blinks.

 

It didn’t feel like a few seconds, it felt like a few minutes. A few minutes of awkward, blank, nonverbal staring. A few minutes of realizing Chanyeol’s eyes had welled up and turned glassy the second Baekhyun had opened the door and a few minutes of Baekhyun trying to realize this was real.

 

A few seconds. It only took a few seconds for Chanyeol to start crying and wrap Baekhyun into a bear hug.

 

Baekhyun is taken completely off guard by the gesture, he stands limp in his friends grasp for a moment before he realizes and weakly wraps his arms around Chanyeol too. He’s sniffling every so often, it’s that ‘trying desperately not to lose it’ kind of sniffling. It’s still silent, there isn’t a word shared between the two yet. Almost like they’re both stuck in a state of shock purely from just looking at each other. It’s felt like an entire lifetime since Baekhyun has seen Chanyeol, yet he doesn’t feel the way he thought he would. Baekhyun doesn’t really feel anything at all.

  


Baekhyun is the first to let go, hurrying to shut and lock the door, facing away for Chanyeol just for a few seconds to try and gather himself together, find the right words, and turn around and confront Chanyeol just as he did in his head a few minutes prior.

 

He licks his lips, takes a breath, and turns around to face the male, mouth open to say whatever the first thing to come to mind is.

 

“I missed you.” He mutters.

 

Chanyeol sniffs, his lips turn into a sort of faked half-smile and he nods, wiping at his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie, “Me too.”

 

The tension falls a little in Baekhyun’s shoulders. He walks further inside the apartment, signaling Chanyeol to follow him, and they find their place on the couch, facing each other with too many burning questions, just like the last time they saw each other.

 

Baekhyun might as well get it all out of the way. Chanyeol has been piecing every detail together blindly since everything had started. Forgetting a story, a timeline, a name or face, Baekhyun is going to lay it all out on him and tell him everything he deserves to know. Chanyeol should have been the first person he told from the beginning, Baekhyun, being so terrified of abandonment then, couldn’t dream of facing him. Now it just feels like another chore.

 

“How is everything?” Baekhyun asks, twisting his fingers into the sleeves of the hoodie he has on, reminding himself not to stretch it out, it isn’t his.

 

Chanyeol shrugs, “The investigators stopped searching me…”  

 

Baekhyun sits quietly, taken aback by the words and blinks.

 

“Wait, what?” His tone is pure disbelief. This search was being lead by Kim Junmyeon. He wouldn’t just stop. There was no way.

 

“Yeah, they told me I was in the clear for right now but they’d still be monitoring my place and my movements.” Chanyeol says. Baekhyun sits back, trying to take it all in. There was no way this was true. Kim Junmyeon’s team, out of anyone, just stopping and not continuing?

 

Baekhyun is quiet for way too long. The more he thinks into it, the less he understands and is met with a sensible answer. Chanyeol is the person who had seen him last when all of this had erupted, why hasn’t he been shot down or taken in yet? Why did his mother have to go and Chanyeol still sits here right in front of him?

 

There’s something going on here and there’s no way that Chanyeol is still safe. No way.

 

“Wait, so how did you get here without them following you?”

 

“Baek, they don’t know you’re here. And it’s not like I come here all the time anyways. Surely this wouldn’t raise suspicion.” He smiles. It’s not genuine, not like the Chanyeol he knew, but it was an attempt.

 

Baekhyun shakes his head. He won’t ask more into this, but he hopes that whatever superhuman abilities comes along with this curse will come in handy soon. The idea that Kim Junmyeon is planning something, very likely planning something against Chanyeol makes him skin crawl.

 

This investigator suddenly being quiet when he seems so obsessed with getting rid of Baekhyun… It’s like the calm before the storm.

 

“So…” Chanyeol starts quietly, hesitantly, dragging out his words as Baekhyun glances back up at him.

 

“I saw… On TV… W-Was that really…”

 

“What?” Baekhyun asks, trying to usher the words out of the man faster, but it clicks, “Oh,” He breathes, “...Yeah.”

 

Chanyeol does a light nod and looks away apologetically. Baekhyun and Chanyeol spent a big portion of their youth together. They spent a lot of their time outside of doing mischief, at each other’s houses. They became part of each other’s families. There’s no telling how hard this must have hit Chanyeol alongside everything else. And for him to get no word of anything…

 

“I’m sorry, Baek.” He mutters, face turned towards the ground, eyes blinking too fast.

 

“Yeah,” Baekhyun sighs. He pauses, trying not to let the conversation die, “I tried to save her but by the time I got there…” The lump in his throat cuts him off, making his breath hollow and his eyes start to burn. The amount of guilt he’ll feel about this for the rest of his life is unbearable. This is going to weigh him down until the day he dies.

 

“I wanted to save her. I tried to-” His fingers tighten back into his sleeves. “Why couldn’t they have just taken me, Yeol?” The words fall out without thought. He’s on autopilot, letting whatever he’s been wanting to say finally release and not even thinking about it.

“Why have I had to live every time as if something good is supposed to come out of it? How am I supposed to continue living when I only continue losing reasons? I don’t- I hate it.” Baekhyun never thought his head would conjure up the words he just said. He’s had a good life, he’s never had a reason to complain or be be upset, it’s been a journey and it’s had its moments. But nothing ever like this.

 

Chanyeol doesn’t seem to know what to say. He sits there quietly, trying to take everything in but trying to find something to say all at once without absolutely losing it.

 

Baekhyun is trying to build himself up for the moment Chanyeol tells him he’s had enough. He’s waiting for Chanyeol to turn his back and Baekhyun understands. Chanyeol shouldn’t continue trying to be his friend if all it’s going to do is cause him hurt and put him in constant danger.

 

Baekhyun knows that Chanyeol is sensitive, he knows that this is way too much for Chanyeol to be trying to handle but he also knows Chanyeol won’t tolerate it if he knows what’s best for him.

 

“Chanyeol, you shouldn’t be here.” Baekhyun let’s the words fall. Maybe a little too soon, but Chanyeol has hardly said a word since he’s been here.

 

“I know,” He starts quietly, his eyes still stuck to the floor, whole body tense.

  


There’s a pause and Baekhyun waits nervously for him to continue.

 

“Y’know when we were younger, that would’ve been me saying that to you.” There’s a soft smile that traces his lips, brief, mostly to himself. “I always admired how bold you were when we had gotten ourselves into dumb shit.”

 

“Somehow,” He says, “You always pulled us back out.”

 

Baekhyun wants to ask what he means, what the fuck it is he’s trying to say and just shake him by the shoulders until he spits it out but he sits silently waiting for Chanyeol to continue and make his stupid point, whatever that may be.

 

“It was always you that got us into the most stupid shit but you still had the brains to get us out despite the circumstances. Sometimes I questioned if you were really ever human when I met you. You never seemed afraid of anything. You never had a second thought about the consequences of what we did, not even for a second.”

 

“Then what?” Chanyeol finally looks up to him, his eyes are shining and pink around the sides, “Why are you so afraid now? Why do you keep running when you have the obvious advantage, Baekhyun? What happened to you that’s made you run instead of face everything?”

  


Baekhyun doesn’t have a response to that. He doesn’t know. He knows he’s still chatty and loud and sometimes pretty obnoxious. But that overwhelming, troublesome curiosity in him that he had gotten in trouble so many times for a few years ago, faded. He doesn’t remember when, or how, or why. It’s just gone. A part of himself that was probably just some phase, some burnt out, extinguished adventure seeker that faded along with the rest of his human side. Maybe that was it.

 

He knows he shouldn’t run. Baekhyun five years ago wouldn’t have ran. He would’ve laughed. Baekhyun now doesn’t do that anymore.

 

“I don’t want to be scared this time, I want to be like you when we were kids. Fearless, ya know? I want you to be like that too. You have… Powers.” Chanyeol says, reaching out and giving Baekhyun a light, playful push.

 

“Be fearless right now Baek,” Chanyeol says, sitting up a little straighter and looking Baekhyun on straight in the face, “Tell me everything.”

 

It takes Baekhyun a moment to try and process what Chanyeol was saying up until this point. He sat there helplessly staring around the room like he suddenly couldn’t hear. He knows he has to tell Chanyeol this entire, long, fucked up story that’s lead him to this point but he has no idea where to start or how to make anything seem real.

 

“You won’t believe me.” Baekhyun shakes his head, still avoiding eye contact as he looks down at his fingers.

 

“There’s more than enough proof to back you up already. I just want to hear it from you.”

 

Fuck. He has a point. Baekhyun is everywhere, and people are talking are talking about the variant on the loose and how much of a threat he is. Baekhyun knows it’s all out there, now he just needs to explain himself truthfully. No means of trying to justify anything, accidental or not. All cold, hard, pure facts. Everything Chanyeol should have known.

 

It took a minute for Baekhyun to get his voice to function properly and not mumble and half-ass explain so many details. He swore about three times before he backtracked and started from the beginning, from the night he got mugged. It was all very hazy for him to remember. He was so disoriented when it happened that all the details are very gray, from there and inbetween, it was all a jumbled mess in his head, and he explained that, too. Every detail, every minute he could remember.

 

He stopped and started and stopped again to try and keep his voice from breaking when he talked about his mom. Baekhyun had been so numb, so void for an entire week that everything he was supposed to feel came crashing down all at once and he couldn’t get through the rest of his sentence, which had barely even started. Chanyeol didn’t pressure him, didn’t make him talk about any of it, just told him to skip over and keep going. So he did.

Chanyeol was listening carefully, nodding and letting out small gasps of amazement every so often. He had a lot of questions. Too many, and, in typical Chanyeol fashion, asked them without a minute of hesitation and completely stopped Baekhyun in the middle of anything he may have been saying.

 

Baekhyun had managed, he always does. He went on to tell Chanyeol everything about Kyungsoo and Minseok, and whatever little bits and pieces he knew of Jongin. He talked about the investigators and how he’s avoided the television like the plague.

 

Whatever else he could remember and talk through without feeling his chest tighten and his throat start to constrict, he said it. Baekhyun had ended up talking so much his throat went dry and to him, that’s a good sign.

 

On purpose, he left out Jongdae, for the sake of the other man’s privacy. Baekhyun hesitated telling Chanyeol what happened over the holidays and tried to pass it off by saying he doesn’t remember who had helped him. He just knew it was another one of his kind. He had almost spilled if he hadn’t remembered Jongdae desperately telling Baekhyun he didn’t want Chanyeol to know about what he is. So, Chanyeol won’t. Not until Jongdae gains the courage to tell him himself.

  


“Minseok was telling me this morning, before you showed up, that it was his idea to keep me here for a while. They wanna help me, and if no one else can, they’ll have to do, I guess.” Baekhyun sighs, sinking into the couch and watching Chanyeol nod slowly.

 

“I’m glad.” Chanyeol says quietly. His mouth parts as if to say something else, “I-” He quickly decides against it though, and the two sit silently.

 

“What?” Baekhyun asks, “You were gonna say something?”

 

“No, no,” Chanyeol shakes his head and stands up, “I uhm… I have something for you. Since we missed Christmas and all...”

 

Baekhyun mutters a quiet, “Oh,” and stands up behind Chanyeol. He didn’t realize how much time had actually passed. It’s been a couple hours now.

 

“Wait, I didn’t get you anything though.” Baekhyun says quickly, watching Chanyeol turn around and hum in question. The taller shrugs, “You’re alive. That’s all I can ask for.” He says, picking his backpack up from where it was lying by the door and carrying back to the couch, and sets it onto the empty space in between them.

 

Baekhyun looks at Chanyeol as if to hurry him on with it and open the damn thing, but Chanyeol nods to him, telling him to open it.

 

Chanyeol sits across from him with a shit-eating grin on his face as Baekhyun’s eyes widen as he unzips the bag.

“Yeol, how did the CRI not take any of this? How the fuck did you manage to save it?” The smaller looks up at him and Chanyeol shrugs, “I learned from the best, right?”

 

Everything Baekhyun had from school is still there. His notebooks, sketchbooks, pencils and gel pens. Even some spare clothes that were rolled up and shoved to the very bottom. His wallet is there, everything he needs to make it for right now is all here. Chanyeol didn’t let them take it.

 

“As soon as you left I moved your stuff into my backpack so they wouldn’t catch on. I even tried to ask what they did to your place when they came over but they wouldn’t tell. I’m not gonna let em’ walk all over me.” He chuckles. Chanyeol was starting to look like his old self again, but Baekhyun could tell there was still some discomfort. Especially when he shivered after hearing Chanyeol say what he did.

 

Chanyeol is playing games with the CRI and if he isn’t careful he’s going to get in trouble. They’re already on his tail, if he tries them anymore Baekhyun doesn’t want to know what the consequences will be.

 

“Chanyeol, you really need to be careful, you’re probably on their list, I don’t-” Baekhyun catches himself before he says anything that could jinx him. He can’t let Chanyeol fall into their hands. He can’t.

“You’re all I have left.”

 

“Baek, they want poke at _your_ insides.” He says, jabbing Baekhyun’s stomach, “Not mine. I’m human, I have their favor already.”

 

“That doesn’t matter, they’ll still harass you until they get the answer they’re looking for. You need to be careful they aren’t-“

 

“They aren’t the kind of people I should be messing with I know.” Chanyeol interrupts, finishing Baekhyun’s sentence.

 

It’s quiet for a second and Chanyeol starts again, “I harassed them a little, they’re gonna do the same thing to me, fight fire with fire. I’ll be careful, okay?”

 

Baekhyun doesn’t say anything, just looks down at the backpack in his lap.

 

“I need to get going.” Chanyeol says, standing up, “But… I need my bag.”

 

Baekhyun looks up in confusion before he understands and zips the bag up to hand to his friend, standing up as he does so and walking him to the door.

 

Chanyeol slips his coat on, backpack following.

 

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun starts, taking a short, steady breath, “You know I can’t see you for a while, right?”

 

Chanyeol nods slowly in understanding, “Yeah.”

 

“You know I’m always gonna be your shitty best friend too, right?” His voice quivers a little, sending the aftershocks to his heart, trembling in his chest.

 

Chanyeol nods again.

 

“And you know that I’m proud of you? And I’m always gonna cheer for you because you’re my best friend. And no matter what happens I’m gonna stay alive, you gotta promise to do the same. Okay?” His eyes are watery, his voice broke at the end of his sentence, he doesn’t want Chanyeol to go quickly.

 

Chanyeol doesn’t say anything, he just pulls Baekhyun into the same bone crushing bear hug he did when he got here. He can feel his friends chest sputter too, a few sniffles follow, and Baekhyun is letting his tears fall silently as he thinks about everything that has lead up to this moment.

 

What did Baekhyun do to get cursed with a life like this? What did he do to suffer so greatly and watch everyone around him all follow that same curse? It’s an endless nightmare of the same suffering that Baekhyun can’t seem to claw his way out of.

 

Now, here he is, taking in the last sight, smells, touch of his best friend for an indefinite amount of time while he runs in the shadows playing a game of leap frog with life. Except in this game life is standing up as he jumps,

laughing while he falls on his face.

 

In this game life jumps much further, and he’s being forced to catch up.

 

In this game Baekhyun’s not even playing. He’s the game piece getting tossed around on the board.

 

“I’m not giving up.” Baekhyun mutters into Chanyeol’s chest, “You can’t either.”

 

The door opens, Baekhyun catches that last, ready look in Chanyeol’s face, and then in the next flash he’s gone, and so is another small piece of Baekhyun’s heart.

 

 

 

End of Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this was as much of an emotional roller coaster for u as it was for me this was a lot longer than i expected it to be but wooow am I carry this on a lot in the next one huhuh
> 
> comments are always v appreciated, as always.
> 
> you can follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/shuaversum) or more headassery. see u all soon


	11. Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is v long but it was worth it i had so much fun with it!!!! wow!!!!
> 
> There's a lot of things that may seem a little questionable this chapter but just wait for the next one and it will all be explained. I hit 10k with this one faster than I expected but I was really excited to write it but I also did not expect it to be so LONG. So... If u have questions about what in the world is going on just wait until I drop 12.

 

Chapter 11 

 

 

 

There was a lot left for Baekhyun to sit and think on after Chanyeol had left yesterday. So many points were brought up, so many things to think about and wonder why he changed and where he became so different. 

 

Kyungsoo has been floating around, trying to see how things went, trying to ease the tension a little. Baekhyun mostly ignored him and tried to focus on whatever the scribbles were on the page of his sketchbook. Holding a pencil feels foreign now, it almost feels too heavy in his fingers as he tries to make something out of the scratched, roughed lines across the page. 

 

Baekhyun hasn’t said a lot, he’s kept it brief and as vague as he could possibly be. He still feels burned out, like he doesn’t have the energy to really even sit up, bu somehow, for whatever reason, he is. Kyungsoo seems to understand this to some extent and doesn’t pry, but he still asks a question or two now and then when he comes to check on Baekhyun. 

 

His whole mind has been an absolute mess, even more than usual, since Chanyeol came over. The main thought eating him alive was that Kim Junmyeon is plotting something right in front of them. He wouldn’t drop a prime suspect, a witness to all of Baekhyun’s horrible acts dead cold. He’s way too good at what he does for that sort of thing. 

  
  


There’s a knock at his door, pulling him out of his blank stare at the open sketchbook in front of him, and turning to see who he suspects is Kyungsoo, but is instead someone else. Someone familiar, but not quite enough. 

 

Jongin, if his fried, muddled mind can remember him and Minseok’s conversation yesterday morning. He’s a little shy looking, barely pushing the door past his face to make it into Baekhyun’s view. 

 

“Uhm…” He hums, looking around, almost like he was waiting for someone to urge him on from the side. He opens the door a little wider, Baekhyun continues to stare blankly. 

 

“Can you… Come with me?” He asks, letting go of the door knob and letting his arm fall to his side. Baekhyun’s once blank stare turns puzzled as he slowly nods and stands up, walking towards the door where the male was standing, and opens it further, peeking out into the empty living room to see Jongin standing at the entryway, coat on and obviously impatiently waiting. 

 

Baekhyun hurries to follow the male, pausing as he’s slipping on his hoodie. 

 

“Wait… Where are we- I can’t go outside…”

 

“Yeah, I know. Good thing we’re going up to the roof.” Jongin replies, swinging the door open and walking out into the hall, leaving Baekhyun behind to stare in a momentary shock at the now empty space and hesitantly follows behind. 

 

He nervously steps out into the hallway, taking a look back into the shared, silent apartment, waiting for someone else to stop him, but there’s nothing. Baekhyun takes a deep breath, and closes the door, stepping out into the silent hallway. 

 

There’s a door that slams to his right, there he can see the faint glow of the emergency exit sign and the door to the stairwell, and takes a guess that’s where Jongin went, and follows behind. There are so many stairs when he steps in the stairwell, and looks up at the long, rectangular spiral of the flights he’s apparently supposed to climb. 

 

A loud creak echoes all the way down, followed by a loud clang of metal on metal. Baekhyun makes his way the stairs, unsure as to why he’s even doing this, wondering what it is that Jongin may want and why it requires them to go all the way up to the top of the apartment building. Baekhyun hates heights enough as it is, standing on the top of a building with a stranger in his tired, sensitive state is not ideal for him. 

 

He’s hit with a gust of cold wind as soon as he opens the door and steps onto the rooftop. 

 

Jongin is standing on the other side, a few meters from the edge of the building, back turned to Baekhyun and facing the city. Baekhyun stares at him, standing still and holding onto the door of the stairwell, unsure of what he should be doing now. He swallows, and lets the door fall shut with a loud bang behind him, signalling his presence.

 

He walks slowly towards the figure on the other side of the building. Baekhyun makes it a little over halfway and turns his head to look at the overwhelming presence of towers and skyscrapers around him only to find that Jongin is gone.  

 

Disappeared into thin air, almost. Why does this seem familiar…

 

He stops in his tracks and turns around and is faced with the taller man, then finds himself on the ground. As soon as their eyes locked, Jongin put all of his force forward to send Baekhyun straight into the ground. 

 

“Fuck, what the hell are you doing?” Baekhyun hisses, pulling his palms in front of him to rub away the bits of pebbles stuck to them. 

 

“Stand up.” Jongin says, nodding his head up once. 

 

“What?”

 

“Stand. Up.” The male orders. Baekhyun sits a few seconds longer, small drops of anger beginning to pool in his stomach, but he does as told and stands up. 

 

It seems like everytime Baekhyun so much as blinks, Jongin is gone. 

 

“I’m pretty sick of you, you know that?” Jongin says, his voice carrying in the wind somewhere behind him. Baekhyun turns around, no one is there. 

 

“Walking in to our house thinking you’re something special.” 

 

Other way. Baekhyun whirls around, but no one is there. A hard kick is sent to the back of his knees, causing him to collapse into the ground and let out a pained yelp. 

 

“Stand up, pretty boy. Think you’re too good to be one of us?” 

 

Baekhyun closes his eyes, trying to keep his breath steady, trying to compose himself and not breakdown like this. 

 

“Tell me what you really think. Tell me you despise us, tell me you think we’re disgusting. Vile. Not made to walk this Earth with humans.”

 

And Minseok said not to worry about him. Maybe he was lying. 

 

“Stand up. I want to hear you be honest.”

 

Baekhyun shakes his head, fists tightening into his sleeves, jaw clenching against the cold that rips through the threads of his hoodie. 

 

“No?” Jongin laughs mockingly. Baekhyun can’t tell if it’s the ripping wind or Jongin himself that keeps making his voice travel from different directions. First he’s behind, then on his right, left, he’s everywhere. 

 

“Should’ve known.” He mutters. Another kick send Baekhyun onto his side. Baekhyun gasps, clawing at the ground to sit up, to find Jongin’s figure, but he only makes it as far as to kneel, turning and looking in each direction. Jongin’s figure is one spot, then another, flashing around in every direction so quickly is makes Baekhyun dizzy. 

 

“You’re leading them right to us, you know that?” 

 

Baekhyun closes his eyes again, trying to settle the nausea and his spinning head. There’s so much he’s trying to process at once, but it’s all so overwhelming. 

 

“I’m sorry.” Baekhyun mutters. 

 

“Speak up.” He’s too his left. 

 

Baekhyun repeats himself a little louder, just barely loud enough to be heard over the wind. 

 

“Sorry.” Jongin huffs. “You don’t even belong here.” He’s to Baekhyun’s right, now. 

 

“I’m not gonna let you be the one that sends me back to that Hell. Not after everything I went through to get out.”

 

“As if we aren’t risking enough by having one fugitive here, but now we have two. We’re fucking done for, and it’s all because you guilt tripped Kyungsoo and Minseok-hyung. You aren’t the only one with no parents. You aren’t the only one who has had to suffer and run. We all have. Stop thinking you should be some fucking exception.”

 

Baekhyun wants to lash out, ask Jongin what the fuck his issue is even though he’s made his point crystal clear. His voice has stayed consistent in one place, Baekhyun takes the chance to open his eyes and look up in front of him. 

 

Jongin’s eyes are bright red, pupils dilated. He stares at Baekhyun with a gaze that makes him want to curl up and disintegrate. Baekhyun’s throat is being constricted shut. He’s too cold to talk back, he can only kneel on his sore knees and stare back at Jongin pathetically. 

 

From this far, Jongin really looks dangerous. The way his eyes glow bright against the hazy, clouded sky and dull colors of the surrounding apartments, the way his hair hangs over his eyes and his chest rising and falling heavily, he looks like he could kill Baekhyun with the snap of his fingers right here. 

 

Baekhyun doesn’t break the eye contact. Instead he narrows his eyes in on the young male, and holds his gaze. Jongin knows something about the CRI. He’s probably been their test subject, he’s probably lived the down right torture that goes on in those hidden labs. He knows something about Kim Junmyeon. He has to. 

 

Jongin takes a few steps forward. His figure flashes out of sight, and appears closer this time. Instead of stopping in front of Baekhyun, like he originally thought, Jongin walks past him. 

 

Baekhyun turns his head over his shoulder and gasps. Turning around all the way to see the other, who is standing on the edge of the building now.

 

“You’re a pathetic excuse of a demon.” Jongin snaps, and takes a step forward, right over the edge of the building. 

Baekhyun calls out, crawling to peek over the edge of the building to the ground below, but sees nothing but the empty, narrow street below. 

 

Baekhyun looks around, then up at the building in front of him, sees a figure walking in the opposite direction. Baekhyun’s shoulders fall as he lets out a pent up breath. His head falls, down as he tries to think about what just happened. He hasn’t said anything to Jongin other than a forced ‘thank you ‘ from when Baekhyun was here the last time. 

 

Either way, his presence and bad reputation among the city is probably enough to make Jongin despise him. There’s no telling what else he could have heard among the people and news outlets and social media. 

 

Either way, Baekhyun has tried to remain as no more than a passing shadow among the city, and this tiny, shared apartment. He knows he’s intruding, he knows he’s being a burden, he knows that existing anymore is just too dangerous. Jongin didn’t have to remind him. 

 

“You okay?”   
  


That’s a familiar voice. Baekhyun turns around slowly, Minseok is crouched in front of him, concern all over his face as he stares at Baekhyun.

 

“Yeah, he just- Yeah.” Baekhyun nods, eyes falling away from the older, who stands up and offers his hand. 

 

“Did he hurt you?”   
  


Baekhyun shakes his head, not bothering to go into detail about anything. Jongin only pushed him around a little, Baekhyun will live and save Jongin the trouble.

 

“That’s good.” Minseok hums, “I came to check on you but I saw you both were gone. I figured you’d be up here. Jongin always hangs out on rooftops since no one can see him hop around like that.” Minseok smiles, taking a firm grip around Baekhyun’s hand to pull him up and leads him back towards the stairwell. 

 

“I’m sorry about him, he’s just… A little scared and a bit territorial. He’ll take a minute to come around. Don’t take it personally.” Minseok says apologetically, opening the door and letting Baekhyun inside first, and following after him.    
  


It’s a mostly silent walk down the stairs. Baekhyun is tempted to ask about Jongin, ask what exactly what happened to him that made him build up so many walls, but it doesn’t feel right. Invading on Jongin’s past trauma through another source is wrong, maybe, just maybe, he can somehow get through to Jongin just to find out what all happened. 

  
  


“I’ll talk to him later, I really didn’t expect him lash out-”

 

Minseok stops in his tracks once the door to their hallways opens. They didn’t even make it down to the door yet but Kyungsoo is heaving as he leans against the door, mutter something in between breaths. 

 

“Kyungsoo? What’s wrong?”

 

“CRI… Found out… Chanyeol… Here…”

 

“The CRI? Here?”

 

Kyungsoo nods, straightening up and swallowing before he continues, “It’s Kim, they were talking to the landlord when I got back from class I think they might have noticed something.” He pants.

 

Great. They found out about Chanyeol coming here and now they’re out to look for him. The search is officially on now to take Chanyeol in for questioning. 

 

“They’re wanna take him in for questioning.” Baekhyun says, “Chanyeol, they’ve been following him for a while, but he doesn’t realize. Junmyeon tricked him to catch him off guard. I think he wanted to see if Chanyeol was going to make any sort of sketchy moves to lead them closer to me… I guess it worked.” 

 

Minseok and Kyungsoo glance to Baekhyun, it’s silent between the three of them for a few seconds, “They don’t have a reason to search us.” Kyungsoo starts quietly, “We’ll just hide him and play dumb. You think they’re gonna go through everyone in this whole building?”

 

“They don’t have to.” Baekhyun says quietly, eyes falling over the two arguing in front of him.

 

“CCTV.” He starts, “If they’re installed in the hallways and parking garage they can go back as far as they want. Chances are they already found me.” 

 

Silence again. Kyungsoo sighs, and Minseok swears. Junmyeon and Sehun aren’t that dull. Junmyeon has been doing this for years. Chances are they already have Chanyeol and now are just looking for answers. 

 

“Kyungsoo, do you have your phone on you?” Minseok asks suddenly. The smaller nods, watching as Minseok steps down the rest of the stairs. He whispers something to the male, who listens carefully, nodding every few seconds. 

 

“Baekhyun, go with Kyungsoo. You guys will have to stay low for a few hours until I’m sure they’re gone. Okay?”

 

Baekhyun looks between the two and nods, stepping down the stairs to the platform. Minseok takes the door and he and Kyungsoo switch places. 

 

“You two stay safe. I’ll keep you posted.” Minseok says, waving to the two as the door clicks shut behind him. Baekhyun watches as he strides down the hall feeling his stomach churn at the possibilities of may happen if they happen to find Baekhyun’s whereabouts. 

 

Kyungsoo pulls at Baekhyun’s sleeve, “Let’s go. Put your hood up.”

 

Baekhyun follows, does as he’s told and throws his hood up over his head, following Kyungsoo down the stairwell. He’s trying not to overthink this, but after his luck so far, Baekhyun can’t help but feel like this is just going to escalate. 

 

“You think really loudly.” Kyungsoo says, skipping the very last step to the final door, pushing it open as he waits for Baekhyun. 

 

“Minseok has lied for Jongin ten hundred times. He’s a professional at this by now.” He smiles, checking if the coast is clear as leads Baekhyun down the alley of the building. 

 

“So where are we going then?” Baekhyun asks, changing the subject as he doesn’t want to know how he’s so transparent to Kyungsoo. 

 

“Call it a secret hideout for now. It’s by the University, you’ll see.” Kyungsoo says, leading Baekhyun around corners, down narrow streets and alleys. 

 

It was a lot of stopping and looking, making sure there wasn’t a soul in sight as they slipped through the cracks. It was a lot longer considering they had to take a major detour to avoid the main roads. Baekhyun had bitten his tongue the whole way to keep from asking any questions and made sure the wind didn’t rip his hood off. 

 

It was still as freezing as it was when he was up on the roof. Even hiding behind buildings and in narrow crevices didn’t shield him a lot. Baekhyun now has two mental notes, buy a new coat, and hair dye. 

  
  
  


Seeing the campus of the University again was such a strange sight. It almost didn’t feel familiar to Baekhyun anymore, to think he had spent hours on hours burning holes into a computer screen while wanting to also simultaneously throw the damn thing off the desk was a memory now. It’s only been a few weeks since he’s been here. It hasn’t been that long, but it feels like it. 

 

“We need to hurry so you don’t get caught. Ready?” Kyungsoo is hugging the corner of a building as he turns to face Baekhyun standing behind him, who nods and waits for Kyungsoo to make a break for it. 

 

“Keep your head down. Stay close.” He says, turning back to him briefly before he starts forward, signalling Baekhyun to follow. Baekhyun rushes to keep up with Kyungsoo, trying to stay close to him but also not totally invade his personal space as the walk up to a small building. 

 

Baekhyun nearly faints when he walks inside. 

 

“Welcome! Can I- Baekhyun?”

 

Jongdae is bright, smiling, and cheery as he steps out from behind a counter to greet the two. 

 

“Hey,” Kyungsoo says, “We uhm… We have a problem.” 

 

Jongdae looks between the two for a few seconds. He looks like he wants to ask but instead he smiles, and tells the two to follow him. 

 

Baekhyun is hesitant. He has no idea what’s going on. Kyungsoo hasn’t told him a single thing since they left, and even when he did ask he didn’t get that much of an answer. What does a stationary shop have anything to do with a hideout? 

 

Baekhyun quietly shuffles behind, watching as Jongdae leads them behind the counter and into a supply room. Past all the box stuffed shelves, there’s a door with a small sign that says “Employees Only” taped up. 

  
“I’ll be down there in ten. Wait for me.” Jongdae mutters, opening the door. Baekhyun watched as Kyungsoo walks in without a second thought. He looks at Jongdae, who has a playful grin on his face, “You’re safe, promise.” He says. 

 

Baekhyun looks down a little longer, unsure if he really wants to follow Kyungsoo down this narrow set of stairs. He sighs, takes Jongdae’s word, and follows Kyungsoo. 

 

There’s fairy lights and a long shelf of potted plants that extends along the wall as they descend down the staircase. A little over halfway down it opens up into a large, open room. Tables and booths all scattered about, a long counter with a few people manning it runs along one side. 

Just at the top of the wall, at the bottom of the staircase is a large white sign with bolded letters spelling out the words “ _ Semper Anticus _ ”

 

Baekhyun stares at it for a moment as he tries to make it out. It’s Latin, but that’s as far as his guess goes. All that research about Cambions for school didn’t do him enough in the Latin side of things, considering that’s all they seem to use to classify demons. 

 

“‘Always forward’. If you were wondering.” Kyungsoo says behind him. 

 

Baekhyun nods, immediately freezing up as he looks at the small crowd of people behind the man. They all see him, they all stare, no one says anything. If it wasn’t for the music playing, the silence would have crushed Baekhyun into nothing. The pressure from all the staring might as well be enough. 

 

“Don’t look at them, just follow me.” Kyungsoo says, walking to a booth on the other side of the room as if he doesn’t have a wanted killer right behind him. He always makes fearless look so easy. Chanyeol was right, Baekhyun lost that piece of him somewhere. It’s times like this he wishes he had it back. 

 

Baekhyun sinks into the booth as soon as he reaches it. There’s a quiet chatter that slowly fills the room back up, but Baekhyun can’t shake off the tightness in his muscles. 

 

“Everyone down here is a demon. Relax.”

 

“Relax?” Baekhyun whispers, sliding his hood off and running a hand through his hair, “You expect me to relax when they know what I’ve done? I’ve completely ruined our reputation and they know it.”

 

“It’s not like it’s already been ruined. Let’s not forget the shit you said before you finally got over yourself.” Kyungsoo says, leaning back into the booth and looking up to the man that walks up the their table. 

 

“Kyungsoo, long time no see! How are you?” He asks, smiling as he approaches the table. 

 

Kyungsoo smiles, dips his head and nods, “I’ve been fine.” He says, “You?”

 

The man hums and nods, “Just fine. Who is this?” He asks, turning to look at Baekhyun, who wishes he could evaporate into nothing. Despite showering and cleaning up this morning he can’t help but think he still looks like he was hit by a truck. 

 

“This is my friend, Baekhyun. Baekhyun, this is Hakyeon, he’s a good friend of ours.”

 

Baekhyun does an awkward halfway stand in the booth as he shakes the mans and and reintroduces himself with an award winning fake smile.

 

“Can I get you guys anything?” Hakyeon asks, clasping his hands behind his back. 

 

“You already know what I want,” Kyungsoo starts, “Baekhyun hates coffee though.” He hums. 

 

“I- Cola… Is fine.” Baekhyun mutters, glaring at Kyungsoo, who doesn’t pay him any attention as he thanks Hakyeon, who smiles and turns to leave them be. 

 

“How did you know I didn’t like coffee. I never told you.” Baekhyun says, sulking back into the booth, leather squeaking loudly as he does. 

 

Kyungsoo shrugs, “It’s not like we’re the only two that live there.”

 

“What were you and Minseok doing on the roof?” 

 

The question makes Baekhyun flinch. There was a bite to the tone of his question. He wants to snap back and ask how he even knew where they were, but reminds himself that Kyungsoo isn’t human. He heard exactly where they were and followed the sound. 

 

“Jongin pulled me up there to tell me how much he hates me.” Baekhyun admits, shoulders falling as he feels the heat creep up his neck and wrap around his cheeks. 

 

“Serious?” Kyungsoo asks, leaning forward on the table. 

 

Baekhyun nods. He opens his mouth to continue but waits as Hakyeon places two drinks on the table, followed by a small plate of baked goods. The two thank him simultaneously and Baekhyun acts as if he never was about to say anything. 

 

It’s quiet for a few minutes. Baekhyun stares at the bubbles rising in his drink as Kyungsoo scrolls through his phone. This booth may hide him, but it doesn’t hide the fact that he’s here. Everyone knows who he is and that thought alone makes him squirm. 

 

He hates feeling like an outcast, he hates that he sticks out like this, he hates that he can look into a stranger’s eyes and see a mirror replay all the things he’s done. Baekhyun hates sitting by so quietly while the rest of the world moves ahead of him. All time does anymore is pull him back. Even when he’s asleep, Baekhyun feels like he can’t make the time go by faster. The weeks have felt like an eternity and Baekhyun hates that he’s being forced to watch the world spin through his bedroom window. 

 

Everything feels so wrong now. It’s like he’s waking up on the same day and being forced to repeat it over and over until he does something right. Instead all he does is cause more pain. 

 

“Here.” 

 

Baekhyun looks at the plate that slides in front of him. 

 

“You need to eat something.”

 

Baekhyun shakes his head. He still has had a hard time eating. Granted, he’s eaten more recently since he has in a week, his appetite is still barely existent. 

 

“You haven’t eaten today yet, I know you haven’t. Come on.” Kyungsoo pleads, sitting back in his seat and watching Baekhyun.

 

There’s a few scones, and a couple of muffins, nothing much but it still makes Baekhyun grimace. A month ago he would have inhaled the whole plate without question. 

 

Kyungsoo sighs, leans forward again, and picks up a scone, holding it up in front of Baekhyun, who only stares blankly.

 

“Eat. The fucking. Scone.” He deadpans, eyes narrowing on Baekhyun, who is shrinking back as far as the booth will allow him to. 

 

“You’re so sweet.” Jongdae chirps, sliding in next to Baekhyun as if they were best friends, and taking the scone right from Kyungsoo’s fingers and bites into it. He smiles and waves to Hakyeon at the bar, and turns to the two.

 

“What’s going on?” He asks, taking another bite from the scone. 

 

Kyungsoo and Baekhyun share a look, though Kyungsoo looks more confused as he then tns his gaze to Jongdae, then back to Baekhyun. “You know each other?”

 

“Of course.” Jongdae smiles, gently putting his arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders, “We met through Chanyeol. Our parents also live in the same town.”

 

Kyungsoo looks at Baekhyun knowingly, and Baekhyun knows what he’s thinking. Jongdae used the “P” word, plural, in present tense. Jongdae probably doesn’t know, maybe he does and slipped up, Baekhyun doesn’t really care, he just nods in agreement.

 

“I should be asking how you two met.” Jongdae says, taking another scone off the plate and helping himself. 

“I had to save him from getting his head blown off by Kim Junmyeon.” Kyungsoo answers, watching Baekhyun look away and take a nervous sip of his drink. 

 

Jongdae hums, and chuckles to himself, “So, like I asked, what’s going on?” His tone turns a little more serious as he changes the topic. Kyungsoo tells Jongdae everything he knows so far about what he saw when he came back, and how it lead up to this. 

 

“They’re always a step ahead. As far as I know Chanyeol hasn’t been taken in yet, but when the time does come, I’ll keep an eye on him and report back to you guys.”

 

Baekhyun nods, thanking Jongdae quietly. Baekhyun wants to stop them, find a way to keep Chanyeol from having to tell them but that would only make matters worse. All Baekhyun can do right now is trust that Chanyeol will know what to say and cooperate with the CRI’s demands. 

 

Jongdae is going to be their only bridge of communication for now, and Baekhyun is going to trust that Jongdae will do what he can to keep Chanyeol safe since he can’t. It’s a weird topic to bring up, especially considering that Baekhyun has only had one real conversation with Jongdae. Putting unnecessary responsibility on Jongdae’s shoulders isn’t something Baekhyun is confident in doing considering he’s done enough of that already. Jongdae has enough to worry about as it is anyways. He’s living with someone that could literally kill him at any given moment if any part of his demon side shows. 

  
  


“Hey,” Jongdae says, throwing his arm back over Baekhyun’s shoulders,  “He’ll be okay, I promise.” Jongdae’s tone is confident, but still reassuring. Baekhyun nods and thanks Jongdae again. 

 

“Astra inclinant, sed non obligant.” Jongdae says, pulling his arm back and leaning into the booth, eating the last piece of his scone. 

 

“Huh?” Baekhyun looks up at the male next to him, then to Kyungsoo who rolls his eyes. Jongdae nods over to another Latin phrase on the wall behind the coffee bar.    
  


“The stars do not bind us. They incline us."

 

  
  
  
  
  
\- - -  
  
  


  
  
  
  


Junmyeon sits quietly in a cafe across the street from a small music store on the corner. In just a few minutes he’ll be catching Park Chanyeol completely off guard and will have him cornered right where he wants him. 

 

He decided to go forward with this alone. Sehun was jittery, and obviously nervous about arresting and interrogating someone he was close with and Junmyeon wasn’t going to have him slow them down. They’re already behind in this process as it is and it’s all because Sehun’s hesitant to go forward. 

 

He left the younger on standby at headquarters and will drag him by the hair to go forward with this no matter how much he hates it. If Sehun can lead the session just right, and crack Chanyeol, they’ll be a million steps closer to catching Baekhyun.

The CCTV footage showed the variant on the twelfth floor of the apartment complex they searched but since neither of them have a warrant to search, they could ask the residences for any suspicious activity. 

 

But, Park Chanyeol knows, he was there yesterday afternoon. One of those residences is lying, and this boy knows which one Baekhyun has been hiding out in. 

 

Junmyeon has all the dots connected. Now he just needs Sehun to make Chanyeol just vulnerable enough, and he’ll have a reason to go in with a whole team and get Baekhyun sent out for research. 

 

Baekhyun will have nowhere to run anymore. Chanyeol can’t run, he can’t lie, all he needs to do is come clean about his friend and he’ll be free to go. The poor kid os only causing more problems for himself by brushing things under the rug and he has no idea that Junmyeon has been watching his every move like a hawk. He’s just been waiting to gath enough evidence to label him as a witness and bring him in for questioning. 

 

Junmyeon watches closely as the lights flicker off in the store and curtains are pulled down over the large display window. His fingers tap against the paper cup as he waits for a figure to come outside. He has a face, a name, now he just needs the body. The neon “Open” signs flickers off, a familiar figure appears in sight and locks the front door, and Junmyeon stands up from his seat and abandons his coffee as he hurries outside. 

 

He crosses the road as he slips his coat on, makes a sharp turn around the corner to the back of the building and perches himself right next to the back door of the store, one hand flush against the concrete of the wall, the other stuffed in the pocket inside his coat, fingers hot against the cold metal of the handcuffs. 

 

A few minutes pass, Junmyeon waits quietly, then the door swings open, and Junmyeon jumps for it. 

 

He takes a hold of Chanyeol’s wrist, pulling him backwards and lunges forward to push him against the wall his hand still tight against his wrist, he pushes it against Chanyeol’s own chest. Chanyeol yells out a swear and tries to resist against Junmyeon, but that only makes the detective push the males arm harder against him, making him wince and struggle. 

 

Junmyeon gives one good, hard motion, telling Chanyeol to be quiet and he yanks the handcuffs out and locks Chanyeol’s caught wrist, pulling him forward until he can reach up and get a grip around the back of his neck, fingers pushing hard into his skin and he pushes him forward, his front now pressed against the wall and brings both hands behind his back, locking them together. 

 

Chanyeol wiggles and squirms against Junmyeon but it’s no use, Junmyeon grabs him by the hair, and pulls him out of the alley, around the corner, and up against the unmarked vehicle he drove here. 

 

He hurries to avoid any trouble as he gets Chanyeol in, sending a quick text to Sehun that he’s on his way back. Once Junmyeon slips into the driver’s seat and adjusts the rearview mirror, he finally gets a good look at Chanyeol. The kid looks like he’s on the verge of tears, his breath is heavy, he’s staring down at the floorboard silently. 

 

“You aren’t in trouble, Chanyeol, I just have some things to ask you.”

 

Chanyeol sniffs, blinking away threatening tears,  “I’m not letting you take him away. He didn’t mean to, it was an accident.” He croaks, lips quivering with every word. Junmyeon doesn’t respond, instead just keeps a close eye on him as he takes Chanyeol to headquarters. 

 

Whether it was accidental or not, Baekhyun consciously murdered an officer on duty, and for that, he must be punished. It’s not a matter of letting the court figure things out, chances are Baekhyun will snap again and it could be worse, it’s already clear that Byun Baekhyun had violent intentions in mind. 

  
Chanyeol silently cooperated when they arrived to headquarters. He didn’t struggle against Junmyeon like he had before, he walked silently, stared at the ground, and said nothing until they reached the questioning room. 

 

He uncuffs Chanyeol, sits him down, asking if he needs water, then leaves him alone when he shakes his head. 

  
  


Sehun is walking down the hall when Junmyeon closes the door, dipping his head to Junmyeon as he greets him. 

 

“ _ Don’t _ submit to him. Break him, and get answers. Find where Byun is. If anyone can get through to him it’s gonna be you. I’m gonna be on standby, got it?”

 

Sehun swallows and nods, “Yes sir.”

 

“We’re this close to getting his scent again. Don’t fuck this up, Sehun.”

 

Sehun nods again, slightly more confidently this time. Junmyeon steps aside and watches him step into the room, and moves to a room across the hall to watch from the camera. 

 

Junmyeon watches silently as the two say hello to each other. Sehun sits down in a chair across from the one Chanyeol is sat in and there’s a few seconds of awkward silence before Sehun straightens up, and begins. 

 

“I’m really sorry you’ve been having to endure so much lately.”

 

Chanyeol nods stiffly, but doesn’t move. 

 

“That said, I have to do my job here, Chanyeol. Do you swear that you will tell the truth, and nothing but the truth no matter what I ask you here today?”

 

Chanyeol is still for a moment, hesitant, but he nods. 

 

Sehun nods in affirmation, crossing one leg over the other as he sits back. 

 

“I wanted to ask you this since this whole case erupted.” Sehun starts. Chanyeol doesn’t look at him, he keeps his eyes locked on the carpet of the floor and nothing else. 

 

“Did you know Baekhyun was always Cambion?” 

 

Chanyeol shakes his head, “No. I know he didn’t either. He always talked lowly about them, he never had any issues when we were growing up, either. He was always just… Normal.”

 

Sehun nods, “You know you’re a prime witness in this investigation, right? I need you to be absolutely honest with anything you tell me, and I’ll do what I can to make sure Baekhyun gets a fair trial.”

 

“Fuck.” Junmyeon hisses. Either Sehun was playing the oblivious, senseless good cop he is or he was genuinely trying to play play Chanyeol. If it was the latter, Junmyeon is interested to see where this goes. 

 

“Let’s start at the night of the twelfth. He got mugged, right?”

 

“Yeah, some guy was wasted and ran up on him, totally beat the shit out of him to take his stuff. He kept on insisting that he was mugged but his veins were visible all over his neck and arms. It was scary.”

 

“That’s when you started asking yourself the same questions, too, right?”

 

Chanyeol nods. 

 

“What about the week after. The nineteenth, the night of the murder?”

 

Chanyeol breathes out a heavy sigh, shaking his head as if he was unsure.

 

“He was fine all day. I walked to class with him that morning, we hung around when we were free and then we met at the club. When the performance ended though he started acting… Distant. Not like he was thinking about something just like… He wasn’t there. You saw, I mean, he said he was just going to step outside and then… He never came back. The power just went out and- Fuck.”

 

Junmyeon had almost forgotten that Sehun was there that night. He ripped him to shreds for going against his orders and disobeying Junmyeon despite knowing the details of what was going on. He remembers watching Sehun shrink back and wince everytime Junmyeon raised his voice, he tried to defend himself but in the end, Junmyeon ended up seeing right through his pathetic mask and sent him home with his tail between his legs. 

 

“He was fine prior though?” Sehun asks, watching Chanyeol nod in response. 

 

“After that, where did he go?”

 

Chanyeol is quiet again, delaying his answer, the he mutters, “With me. Only for a few days though.”

 

The boy pauses briefly, and continues, “I made him go see his mom and then… You. Kim Junmyeon, someone. Someone came in there and ruined everything for him.” Chanyeol’s voice crescendos, bouncing off the walls of the room. He’s adding fuel to his own fire now, 

 

“Why, Sehun? Why did you take her from him? He doesn’t have anyone left now. You want to know if I saw him yesterday, that’s it right? I did, I saw him, and he’s fucking ruined. He isn’t the same anymore and he never will be.”

 

Sehun doesn’t say anything, he remains quiet and lets Chanyeol go off on his tangent. 

 

When he stops, Sehun speaks up softly, voice calm, low and even. “Where is he, Chanyeol.”

 

“Who is he with.”

 

Chanyeol sputters, trying to held back the flood of emotions that are crashing down on him, “Why? What are you gonna do to him? Where is he gonna go?”

 

“Chanyeol, I made you a promise. We know he was in that building, he was seen on the CCTV. Who is he with.”

 

Chanyeol stands up, “Tell me what you’re gonna do with him!” He cries. Sehun turns his head away, takes a breath and stands up. Junmyeon is a few seconds away from going to step in but that would send Chanyeol off edge more, and he wants to see how Sehun will hold his ground. 

 

“I thought I could trust you. You took my best friend away from me.” Chanyeol spits, shoulders shaking ever so slightly. 

 

“ _ Where _ is Baekhyun.”

 

“The twenty-first floor. E...” He pauses, his chest stutters with the intent to cry again, “E four o’ eight.”

 

“Don’t hurt him Sehun. Please, he didn’t mean to. It was an accident, he didn’t know, he was scared.” 

 

“How did he end up there?”

 

Chanyeol sniffs, wipes at his eyes with his sleeve, “He... “ Chanyeol closes his eyes and takes a breath to try and calm his nerves, “He didn’t tell the people who live there what he is. All he said was that they went to school with us… He has a class with one of the people, I guess that’s how he ended up there. I didn’t ask.”

  
“How did you find out he was there?” Sehun’s voice remains steady and collected. Even though his back is against the camera, Junmyeon can tell his gaze is heavy, his eyes are narrowed, focused. 

 

“His classmate told me. In person.” 

 

Sehun nods, turns around and strides towards the door. 

 

“Sehun, please, he isn’t bad, you know he would never do this intentionally.” Chanyeol’s voice breaks as he pleads for is friends life. Sehun keeps his back towards Chanyeol, pushing the knob down. 

 

“Thank you for your time, Chanyeol.”

 

“Sehun-”

 

“Wait here and I’ll have officers escort you out.”

  
  


Sehun looks a bit rattled when he comes out of the questioning room to meet Junmyeon in the hallway. 

 

“I’m impressed.” Junmyeon says, watching Sehun come closer. He doesn’t say anything, but Junmyeon can tell he feels guilty for treating someone he called a friends, as if they were nothing. 

 

“You were steady, you held your ground, you stayed focused. Well done.”

 

Sehun still remains quiet as he watches two officers open the questioning room, and pull out a thrashing, yelling, Chanyeol from the room. 

 

“Kim Junmyeon, you bastard! You ruined his life! You’re heartless!” He yells, turning his head over his shoulder as far as he could to see Junmyeon and yell it for all the officers and detectives to hear. This isn’t the first time he’s heard that phrase. It’s common, and Junmyeon is used to it by now. 

 

“Cold-blooded killer”

 

“They didn’t deserve to die”

 

Cruel, heartless, bastard who doesn’t know anything but the orders he’s given. 

 

“Ready to get this over with?” He asks. Sehun nods, face solemn as he follows Junmyeon down the hall. 

 

Inhuman, merciless, fucked up, son of a bitch who only sees life through blinders. 

 

But somehow, he still manages to get the job done. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


 

**-** **-** **-**

  
  
  
  
  
  


 

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo didn’t have to wait for very long until Minseok assumed they were in the clear. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo walked back to the apartment complex together. Baekhyun stayed out of side by hiding next to the stairwell exit and waited for Kyungsoo to come let him in, and just as Baekhyun ducked out of the nipping wind, Kyungsoo had gotten a phone call from Jongdae, who was in near hysterics. 

 

_ “They- Chanyeol. He just got through with interrogation. I asked him what happened he said they’re on their way over there. They know he’s there Soo, Minseok is gonna have to cover for you but any traces of Baekhyun need to be gone like, right now.” _

 

Kyungsoo listens closely, eyes flitting up to Baekhyun every few seconds, watching as he panics more with each sentence that comes through the speaker. 

 

_ “Go straight to Yongsan, I’ll let Minseok and Jinki know the situation and catch up with you guys later.”  _

 

Kyungsoo thanks Jongdae and pockets his phone.

 

“Who is Jinki? Why Yongsan?”

 

“Stay right here, I’ll be right back, okay? I’ll explain on the way there.” Kyungsoo hurries back through to the elevator, leaving Baekhyun in an echoing, nerve crushing silence. Jongdae managed to get a hold of Chanyeol quickly, and despite Chanyeol not knowing Jongdae’s identity, he trusted him enough to tell him what happened. 

 

For that, Baekhyun thanks Jongdae for giving Chanyeol someone to lean on while Baekhyun plays hide and seek with the law. Jongdae is sacrificing a lot to do this when he doesn’t need to, Baekhyun is going to be sure to repay him when his life starts to balance out again. 

 

He has to repay all of them, Kyungsoo especially for even making the move to save him from this mess in the first place despite his heavy reluctance. Baekhyun feels a little bit of guilt sink on him for always seeming so ungrateful everytime Kyungsoo tries to have a conversation with him. Baekhyun can tell he doesn’t have any bad intentions. His voice is warm, it’s gentle, it’s something  _ different  _ and it makes Baekhyun feel reassured even though he knows this is all going to end badly. 

 

The exact situation they’re in right now is the reason why Kyungsoo was so nervous about keeping Baekhyun hidden, yet he still comes bursting through the entrance of the stairwell with Baekhyun’s backpack and a coat that doesn’t belong to him. 

 

“Put this on, there’s a snowstorm starting and you can’t take the train. We’re walking.”

 

Baekhyun doesn’t complain, does what Kyungsoo says, but pauses when the male pulls out the scarf. 

 

“I told you I don’t want that.”

 

“You don’t really have a choice when you’re most wanted demon in Seoul right now. You’ll regret once you step outside, too.” Kyungsoo clips, stepping forward and taking it upon himself to wrap the red, wool scarf around Baekhyun’s neck. 

 

Kyungsoo looks at him with a smile of satisfaction and amusement, “Let’s get going before it gets dark.”

 

“Wait, don’t you drive?” Baekhyun asks, fingers curling around the scarf and pulling it down so Kyungsoo could hear him clearly.

 

“When the car is here, yes. I guess Jongin took it.” 

 

Baekhyun doesn’t reply, instead pulls the scarf back up over this face and lets Kyungsoo lead the way. 

 

The snow isn’t heavy yet, only small swirling flurries that dust the ground, but they have quite a walk ahead of them and it’s going to get bad quickly. Add on the fact that they can’t take Baekhyun down any main roads, and it’s going to make out for a long, cautious journey.

  
  


Sure enough, within barely an hour the snowfall and gotten significantly heavier. The sun hazey light seemed to dim faster, and Kyungsoo and Baekhyun had stopped making small talk with each other entirely, too focused on trying to make it to where they were going and not think about how cold it was. 

 

Baekhyun can’t help but to worry. At this rate, he feels like every attempt he’s made at trying to isolate himself away from the eyes of the world just backfires on him and he’s left cornered with barely any chance of survival. 

 

Often times he keeps wondering why he’s even trying so hard to stay hidden, but then he hears the faint talk of reporters on the news channels talking about the CRI upping security around the city, watching closer on variants and how they’re edging them closer and closer to turning just so they have an excuse to take them in, and then Baekhyun remembers. 

 

Maybe, if he wasn’t so scared, if he genuinely cared to put effort in harnessing this stupid ability, whatever it is, then he would be a little more confident in trying to find somewhere to escape to. It’s not that the CRI has him completely terrified, it’s also the fact that Baekhyun has now considered himself a threat because of the force of his Qualitas. He’s barely had the energy to even try and feel it like Kyungsoo had showed him, he’s too afraid he’ll blow out the lightbulb in his lamp for the third time or, in the worst case, knock out the power in every building in a one mile radius. 

 

Baekhyun can’t put himself in a vulnerable position when he’s already too vulnerable to himself. 

  
  


It’s getting hard to see know. Baekhyun is having to squint just to make out Kyungsoo’s figure. The street lights are hardly visible, it’s dark, Baekhyun feels uneasy. Kyungsoo still seems to know where they’re going, even with having to avoid main roads and weave through alleys and narrow neighborhoods. 

 

Baekhyun hates something about this. It isn’t the cold or the snow that keeps getting into his eyes. It’s that familiar feeling of not being alone. Not in the warm way like Kyungsoo being next to him, but that I comfortable, uninvited sort of way.

 

“Hey, Kyungsoo.” Baekhyun pulls his scarf back and talks loud enough for Kyungsoo to turn to him in response, prompting him to keep going.

 

“You don’t feel… Weird do you?” He asks.

 

“Weird how?”

 

Baekhyun looks around at their surroundings. Faint, yellow street lamps dotted along the road, trash cans and motorcycles along the walls, it looks like Seoul. But it doesn’t feel like it.

 

“I dunno. It just… Feels weird.” Baekhyun mumbles, pacing a little faster to keep up with Kyungsoo, who doesn’t seem to care.

 

“You’re probably playing tricks on yourself then.” Kyungsoo starts, keeping his eyes ahead and bothering to turn to Baekhyun. “I think you’ve been inside too long. If there was something wrong I would’ve sensed it by now too.” 

 

He’s not wrong. But he also is. Baekhyun can feel that weird lingering feeling of eyes, just like he did when Junmyeon ran up in him at the club that night. One pair of eyes blinks, three more open, blink, and suddenly there is no running. 

 

Maybe Baekhyun is wrong. Maybe he’s just so nervous and afraid of danger that his mind is just messing with his senses just to keep his guard up.

 

He hears something to his left, stops and turns to it, making Kyungsoo stop ahead of him and turn to yell at him.

 

“Would you please hurry? There’s nothing here you’re just hallucinating.”

 

Right, take Kyungsoo’s word and not the weird shuffling over there. It’s probably trash bags.

 

Trash bags, he tells himself.

 

“You’re probably freaking out because you haven’t eaten today. Stay awake, okay? I don’t wanna be the one to carry you there again. We’re almost there.”

 

Keep walking, keep following Kyungsoo. 

 

“So… What is this place we’re going?” Baekhyun asks, trying to keep his mind on other things,m and not the increasing anxiety that keeps creeping up his shoulder.

 

“It’s similar to the place we met Jongdae today. They’re in every district across the city.” Kyungsoo replies, pulling out his phone out to check the map he has pulled up, looking around and taking a quick turn.

 

“Who is it that we’re seeing? Are they… Important or something?”

 

“Jinki? He runs the place, that’s all. He’s really nice, you’ll like him.”

 

Baekhyun hums. Looking up at the edges of the buildings they walk between. He doesn’t like that it looks like something is crawling up there. He hates that he thinks he saw red eyes through the snow.

 

Keep talking. “So,” his voice quivers a little, he hopes Kyungsoo couldn’t hear it through the wind, “Why are there so many of these places?”

 

“Socializing, more or less. Cambions have to stick together somehow.” Kyungsoo shrugs, glancing at Baekhyun. His eyes are darting all over the place, trying to make out any possible reason he feels so unnerved.

 

“Baekhyun, you’re fine, I p-“

 

There’s a loud crash somewhere in front of them. It sounded like metal meeting concrete and causes the two to stop dead in their tracks.

 

“Hallucinating, huh?” Baekhyun huffs, glancing at Kyungsoo who started straight ahead, eyes narrowed.

 

“Hello? Hey, who’s there?” Baekhyun is the first to call out into the silence.

 

He pulls his scarf down further, allowing him to hear a little more. There’s breathing, heavy panting close by. 

 

“What is that?” Baekhyun asks, looking ahead, trying to make something out through the snow.

 

“I wish I knew.” Kyungsoo mutters, taking a few small steps forward.

 

Baekhyun hears shuffling, the panting is loud, heavy, it’s closer.

 

“Kyungsoo-“ 

 

There’s a loud growl that cuts through the wind, threatening and loud and it makes the two look at each other in sudden fear.

 

Kyungsoo doesn’t even get a chance to look back. Something runs up on him from behind, taking a grip on him and pulling back, yanking him with it.

 

“Kyungsoo?” Baekhyun calls. His breath is heavy now, he hears Kyungsoo calling out, and suddenly there’s a deep rumble that rolls through the earth.

 

Baekhyun panics for a moment, he can’t leave Kyungsoo, but what is he supposed to do? He can’t harness this thing, he’s totally useless.

 

But he can’t leave Kyungsoo. 

 

He follows the sound, the rumbling, Kyungsoo grunting and struggling, calling out for Baekhyun. 

 

He feels that weightlessness again. He feels like he’s flying, he doesn’t feel his legs moving or his feet turning up snow from under him. He just follows the sound until it stops.

 

Then it’s silent.

 

“Kyungsoo!” Baekhyun calls, waiting for an answer, listening for anything. He hears groaning, followed by his name. It’s Kyungsoo, and he’s close by.

 

Baekhyun finds him pushing through some fallen cinder blocks. He’s panting, his eyes glow faintly through the snow and Baekhyun thinks maybe he did this, “Hey, are you okay?” He rushes over to try and help, but Kyungsoo just stops and stares.

 

“Watch out.” He says.

 

“What?”

 

“Behind you!”

 

Baekhyun whips around just as a block of concrete flies past his head in the direction of the silhouette standing in front of him. The figure moves quick, dodges it, and reaches out towards Baekhyun, taking him by the front of his coat and yanking him forward.

 

He yells and swears as it pulls him through the snow. Not with its arm though, Baekhyun realizes he’s  _ attached _ to something. He reaches out and tries to pull at itin attempt to free himself, it’s sticky and wet, absolutely disgusting. 

 

Then he stops. It stands above him, snarling, eyes red. But not the kind of red Kyungsoo’s were. They were brighter, more intense, there wasn’t a thin ring around the iris, but full glowing whites. 

 

Baekhyun’s eyes widen as he stares up at it, his breath hitches as it lets out a long, threatening growl. Come on, think, he can’t just manifest voluntarily and this demon is obviously dangerous. 

 

It retracts it’s arm and hurls it straight into the ground. Baekhyun barely gets a chance to roll sideways and feels the attack brush the side of his head. 

 

He takes the opportunity to stand, though the sticky stuff keeps him in close proximity, Baekhyun manages to send a kick behind its knee to send it off balance. Another chance, he jumps for it, and tries to give it an elbow, but it turns around mid-strike, and sends another powerful blast of the substance to push Baekhyun backwards.

 

It stares at him for a few moments, the turns around and runs back in the same direction they came from, where Kyungsoo just was. 

 

Baekhyun scrambles against the snow to push himself up and run after it, hoping that Kyungsoo had gotten out of that mess. He tries to call after the demon, tries to somehow get its attention, but all he hears is Kyungsoo scream in pain.

 

Baekhyun rushes to follow the sound of Kyungsoo’s voice. Blocking out the traffic nearby, the wind whistling past him, and only Kyungsoo.

He finds him close by, he looked like he was trying to come in the same direction to help Baekhyun. The demon has him pinned against the wall using what must be his qualitas. Thick slime sticky and tight around Kyungsoo’s neck. 

 

“Hey, you demon bastard! Let him go!” Baekhyun yells, watching the demon turn to him, and snarl. Kyungsoo struggles against the thing, trying to speak and Baekhyun takes his chance to rush forward and take a hit at it.

 

His body is on fire again, he’s a fuse that’s been lit up and on its way to exploding. He sees the demons reaction before it even moves and slips under the attack and locks his elbow around its neck, pulling it squeezing hard, using every ounce of pressure in his body squeeze down on the demon. 

 

The demon hisses as it takes a swing backwards on Baekhyun. He catches it, slow motion, and avoids it, hurling forward to pin it. 

 

It’s still got a death grip around Kyungsoo’s neck, but the male manages to curl his shaking fingers in towards his palm and send a hurl of rock and debris on both Baekhyun and the demon. It’s treating Baekhyun like a minor distraction, like it doesn’t care that he’s here. 

 

Kyungsoo chokes, he tries to pull at the constricting arm around his neck, Baekhyun pushes down harder on the demon, trying to get it to wake up, trying to keep from hurting it, but one swift movement and Kyungsoo is thrown into a parallel wall, making the bricks and concrete indent from the force and he falls limpy into the snow. 

 

Maybe Baekhyun cares for Kyungsoo more than he thinks. Maybe he can’t quite control his temper all the way, maybe he gets too worked up and goes into a fight or flight, but hearing Kyungsoo heaving and groaning in pain makes Baekhyun’s vision go hazy. 

 

He forgets trying to wake it up, forgets trying to cause minimal damage, and feels the fuse finally hit the dynamite, heightening every one of his senses into a fury of flame that rushes through his body. 

 

He growls and takes the demon around the collar of his shirt, pulling it up and slamming it into the wall the Kyungsoo had previously been pinned against. He pulls it off, does it again, and the demon wraps his arm around Baekhyun’s waist, constricting him tightly and throwing him down the street.

 

He rolls a little, but the save is still good enough that he’s back on his feet and sprinting towards the demon, who is wrapping it’s arm around Kyungsoo. Baekhyun’s vision is pure red fury. He doesn’t hear anything else, he just thinks about it. There’s a conscious part of him telling him to do it, do it, do it. Stop being so afraid, save Kyungsoo. Help him. He needs you. 

 

Baekhyun’s fingers curl tightly into his fists, he can still see Kyungsoo, he can still feel him struggling. 

 

Baekhyun’s veins are burning inside his skin right now, he feels like he’s a beacon of light that can be felt from miles. It just keeps flooding in him, so much energy, he feels unstoppable. 

 

He takes a grip around the arm of the demon, and lets all that pent up energy go. It bursts in a quick pop, making it retract and hiss in pain. Baekhyun closes in on it some more, taking him by the neck and picking him up like it was another rock on the ground and slamming it straight into the ground. It makes him feel ecstatic, he feels it all boiling to the tips of his fingers and he suddenly starts to understand what Kyungsoo meant when he said to feel everything. 

 

It’s all there, it’s all rushing, it’s all friction in his muscles and veins as he opens his palm and watches it gather. Bright, lucid, blinding, and he sends it straight into the demon with every last bit of force he has inside him. Again, he thinks. Do it again. 

 

He does, and another time after that, every hit he uses that white, blinding anger and forces into the ground as hard as he can until something falls onto him. 

 

It’s not heavy, it’s light, but it’s heavy enough to make him stop, to listen to short, shaky breaths that fall across the side of his neck and off the shell of his ear. 

 

“Baek… Stop it.”

 

He knows that voice. It’s soft, it’s scared, it’s heartbeat is slow, pumping in light beats. 

 

“Stop… Please.” It whimpers. 

 

“Kyungsoo?”

 

Kyungsoo. It’s Kyungsoo, and he managed to pull himself up onto Baekhyun’s crouched figure to catch his wrist in his weak grasp. He slips off of Baekhyun and back to the ground as soon as Baekhyun says his name. 

 

Immediately Baekhyun is hovered over the male, whose eyes are barely open as Baekhyun stares down at him. 

 

“Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun mutters, swallowing th lump as he stares down at the smaller. He can’t, he isn’t going to let Kyungsoo leave on him too. He won’t. 

 

Kyungsoo blinks weakly and slowly reaches up to Baekhyun’s face. His hand lands at the crown of Baekhyun’s head, he stares at it for a moment, as if trying to make something out while his finger’s thread through Baekhyun’s hair, and falls to the ground. 

 

Baekhyun looks behind him, sees the still finger in the depression of the ground, and feels himself begin to panic. 

 

He shakes Kyungsoo, repeats his name over and over, hoping he’ll come around. 

 

He still hears the light beats of his heart, he still has time. He pats Kyungsoo’s pockets in a frenzy, miraculously finds his phone tucked in the pocket inside his coat and sees the blood stained across Kyungsoo’s sweater. He feels over the area, they’re healed, but something else is wrong with Kyungsoo that makes Baekhyun worry. Don’t look back. He checks the distance they are from where ever it is they were supposed to go, a few minutes walk. He carefully pulls Kyungsoo up onto his back, following the highlighted route and trying not to think about what’s behind him, the splitting headache he has again, and the ring starting in his ears. Keep pushing, he’ll save the explanation for later, but he needs to hurry. Kyungsoo may not hold out for much longer and there are people expecting them. 

 

“Hold on, almost there.” Baekhyun grunts, adjust the unconscious male on his shoulder and he trudges through the piling snow and dark streets. 

 

The lights are still on, somehow. Baekhyun didn’t manage to knock out the power this time. 

 

It was another fifteen minutes before they arrived at a small cafe. This was the address, but the lights are all off. Are they too late?

 

Baekhyun’s grip tightens around Kyungsoo as he reaches out to knock at the door, breath hitching in his throat. He keeps knocking, unable to call out anymore to keep from letting any sobs escape. 

 

He feels like he’s going to fall over any second now. It hurts, he’s exhausted, he’s hungry. Baekhyun just wants all this to be over with. 

 

Before he can realize it, he’s muttering Jongdae’s name as his knees give out from under him. 

  
  
  
  


End of Chapter 10

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I keep introducing Jongin as lowkey petty but I promise I made him like this for a reason and as you can probably guess he has a lot of secrets and obviously he has his reasons to be defensive. 
> 
> applause to bbh for finally doing the thing without fucking it up. 
> 
> Interesting things are set up now and we're gonna dive deep into Cambion culture next chapter hhuhuhuhh
> 
> u can follow me for fun times on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/shuaversum) if you want. 
> 
> Comments and things are always appreciated, thank you again for reading if youve made it this far. Hugs.


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